I liked the different direction Cronenberg went in, with this, followed by Eastern Promises. This is an impressive debut, in his out the horror zone of films. Viggo Mortennsen, an actor in high demand, gives another fine performance as a simple man, who could be hiding an ugly past as a fixer for the mob. Now running a cafe, he foils a robbery attempt, in one quite graphic scene concerning the poor SOB robber, who has half his face blown off. Now painted as a town hero, this could be the much recognition, he doesn't need. A seamy stranger, mob guy, (Ed Harris) suddenly shows up in town claiming to know Tom Stawell (Mortennsen) threatening to disclose his past, which Stawell heavily denies. Mario Bello, also impressive as Stawell's wife, stands by him, as more evidence comes to light which can't be overlooked. May'be he really was that bad man, who did all those terrible and hideous things to those poor souls. More convinced is another guy, who Stawell is brought to, played by an actor of high accolade, who was out of the celebrity light for a while, his performance worth waiting for, it's great to see his comeback in this thing. What gets you with A History Of Violence, is the thriller aspect, the need to know of Mortenssen's character. It's an highly engrossing movie, on that basis, with heavy bits of the latter of it's title, with Morttensen, just a superb actor to watch. Through watching him mostly play bad guys in early roles, I always found this uncomfortable aura about him. An early scene, where Bello leads an uncertain Viggo to a secluded spot for some, you know what, is cute.
