A History of Violence

Aroview: An incisive take on the noir thriller from celebrated horror auteur David Cronenberg (EXISTENZ et al), in which a smalltown family man (Mortensen) is set on a strange course of events after killing two crims who try to rob his diner.

Subsequently contacted by a more substantial hoodlum (Harris), who claims that Mortensen 'owes' him, questions about his seeming straighforwardness start to surface, complicated by further bursts of blood-letting. Although clearly 'straighter' than dir. Cronenberg's past efforts, this counts as one of his finest speculations about the possibilities of personal identity, in a gripping plot which, although dropping off in the final act, presents a mature look at the 'consequences' of violence. Adapted from the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke.

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