A History of Violence (2005)

The Canadian director David Cronenberg is best known for his "body-horror" films, and at first glance this movie seems far more commercial than his previous ones -- but that is not a criticism in this instance, as he has turned out something of a masterpiece.  Based on a graphic novel, the story concerns clean-cut Tom Stall, played by Viggo Mortensen, who is a small-town diner owner and a loving husband and father.  That the family has its own minor problems -- the young daughter has nightmares, the teenaged son is bullied at school -- is only the tip of the iceberg when one discovers what lies beneath Stall's easygoing manner.  When some thugs come into Stall's cafe and threaten his customers, he instinctively unleashes lightning-fast violence to deal with the situation,  This makes him a local hero, but attracts the attention of heavily-scarred thug Ed Harris, who turns up with his henchman to suggest that Stall is really Joey from Philadelphia with whom scores must be settled.  As the violence escalates the backlash affects Stall's wife, nicely played by Maria Bello, who, while hating what she now suspects is the truth about her husband, is also sexually turned on by this change in him.  Similarly the son finds something within him to deal with not only the school bullies, but also the threat to the family.  Finally Stall returns to Philly to thrash things out with his older mobster brother, dubiously cast and improbably played by Willaim Hurt.  The movie is extremely raw and graphic, but the audience becomes complicit with the violence on display, as despite its ugliness, we really like the man behind it;  I can find no faults in Mortensen's portrayal.  The ending is left deliberately open, since although the genie is well out of the bottle, the strength of the family may well be able to embrace it.