dork magazine.

Jesse: Since I was a wee lad I've always felt that titles were under-appreciated. Whether it be an album, song, movie, book or essay, the title is the first impression and if for nothing more, it's valuable. In 7th grade I was erasable-penning great Summer Vacation papers with brilliant titles. And the title’s not the only part that David Cronenberg knocked-out-the-box with A History of Violence.

The first ten minutes were uhhhh, peculiar, but the film creeped forward with subtlety and an odd combination of both stellar (Ed Harris, Viggo and William Hurt) and awful performances. An adaptation of a graphic novel, Violence is shamelessly paced, quiet and feeling. And once the brutality arrives, you’re thankful not to have to view it from behind a filter of uber-stylized Audio-Visual gimmicks.

Plenty of this film was transparent formula-filler but not without real purpose and the high points were high for a reason that is unlikely to be fully appreciated in the first viewing. This title is kick-ass but a major overstatement. He wanted to use it before someone else did.

I’ve gotta give a shout-out to the nutty old battle-axe in the row in front of us who turned and hissed “WILL YOU STOP TAKING THOSE PICTURES!” during the Q&A. Nice touch indeed, and a telling conclusion to our experience with A History of Violence.

James: I spent the first third of the movie wondering what I was watching. I wasn't sure if I was watching One Tree Hill or an actual feature film. I had to remember that the movie is an adaptation of a graphic novel, so they had to stay true to the source. Also, I know Cronenberg is a weirdo. He is probably best known for Crash, a film about intentionally crashing your car into somebody else's car and having sex with them. So I had faith that this film would take an unpredictable turn.

The Q&A helped me appreciate the film. Mortensen spoke about the fact as humans we have this “thin layer of civility.” Underneath this layer, humans are a bit unpredictable and can be a bit savage at times. Basically, we have free will, and not everyone wants to be peaceful. This is a movie that you'll be talking about minutes after it is over, but you are going to have to watch it twice to see all the nuances.

peace. james