A reluctant hero-king, living in exile, adopting another life…wait wrong movie, right actor. After a puzzling turn in Disney's Hidalgo, we finally get to see Viggo Mortensen flex his dramatic chops in a slightly less regal, but still epic (character) performance as Tom Stall in A History of Violence.
Director David Cronenberg, known for his early gross-out horror films (Rabid, The Brood, Scanners), and celluloid fetish fests (Videodrome, Dead Ringers, Existenz, Crash) has found the perfect material for his sensibilities. In A History of Violence, he doesn't have to choose between gore or psycholgical addiction, he can have them both. The movie takes place in Millbrook, Indiana, a small Midwest town, where a random act of violence exposes the double life of an Average Joe (aka Tom Stall). And if this sounds like the premise for every Damme(!) or Segal movie, you wouldn't be wrong. But leave it to Cronenberg to turn the archetype anti-hero on its ear.
The main character, Tom Stall, is a former mafia assassin and all-purpose thug turned Average Joe. It was a role that David Cronenberg wooed Mortensen for and we can see why. In Mortensen, Cronenberg finds the perfect embodiment of physical and moral polarity. Mortensen is not overly attractive, nor smooth; just handsome in an open, wholesome I'm-a-happily-married-father-of-two way. And yet when his character explodes in two very violent scenes, he does so with convincing ferocity. Mortensen's Tom Stall is completely believable as both brute and everyman.
But for every stroke of casting genius, there's also the odd misstep. Two in fact: Ed Harris as a scarred, vengeance-seeking, mid-level mafia henchman; and Maria Bello as a harried and bristling (I can't believe I married an assassin!) housewife. In fact, didn't we see her do this role in The Cooler? Not the "I married an assassin" part, but harried and bristling? But we forgive these two acts of casting stoogery because 1) the movie is terrific and 2) the spectacular entrance of William Hurt as mafia kingpin, Richie Cusack. He's a complete ham, but who doesn't crave a little porcine indulgence from time to time? He's fantastic, over-the-top and totally deserving of his Oscar nod.
Is violence ever truly justified? When Tom Stall performs an act of pre-emptive violence, does that make him a hero? Or is an ugly act still ugly no matter what side of the line you stand on? These are tough questions, which makes their discussion all the more worthwhile. And we should note that those seeking a Tarantino/Woo blood and bullets symphony will be disappointed. While there is some beauty in the kineticism of Cronenberg's violence, we never lose sight that this is ugly, gritty stuff. There is blood, pain, death and most importantly, consequences.
If William Munny was Clint Eastwood's repentant gunslinger in Unforgiven, then Tom Stall is his darker modern-day counterpart. It's one thing to live a good life, to walk a peaceful path, but if violence is in your character, in your blood-can you ever escape it? Can you will yourself to change? And if yes, for how long? For a month? A year? A lifetime? A History of Violence doesn't offer easy answers to any of the above, but delivers a thoughtful and suspenseful exploration on character, violence and destiny.