A History Of Violence

Just by hearing the title, you might think that this movie is a documentary about violence. First off that’s impossible. Secondly, it is anything but. On the box it said “one of the best movies of the year”, and it was definitely that good.

The movie is about a family man named Tom Stall played by Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings, the Road, and Eastern Promises). He lives with his wife and his two children in a small town in Indiana. One night while Tom was trying to close up his diner, two men hold up the place at gunpoint. Tom fights off the two men and kills them both with their gun.

Soon after Tom’s heroic act receives huge media coverage. Everybody tries to interview him. After seeing all this coverage and recognizing the main who claimed to be “Tom Stall”, Carl Fogarty played by Ed Harris (The Rock, The Truman Show, and Pollock) goes to Indiana to visit him. Carl is an Irish mobster from Philadelphia who was almost killed by “Tom Stall” and has come to harass him and his family and bring him back to Philly to visit the bosses. Tom must balance the pressure of Carl and his family who start to doubt him.

Right from the start, this movie was solid. The cast had no real A-list stars but it still was perfect. Each actor did their job to perfection. The story was great. Is this Tom Stall really who he says he is or is the Irish mobster right about his alternate life. There are no real twists and turns but that’s now what this movie is about. It’s about connecting to the characters and realizing the problems they are facing. There is this sub plot about Tom’s son getting bullied at school and then he decides to fight back. I really liked that part. It was subtle but perfect for the movie. In my opinion it put the movie over the top.

If you want something suspenseful this might not be for you. If you are in the mood for a good movie, definitely see it. There is no way you will be disappointed. I don’t necessarily know if its one of the best of movies of the year like the box said but it could be the case. This movie is great. See it.