A History of Violence (2005)

A mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core in this action thriller.

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writers:

John Wagner (graphic novel), Vince Locke (graphic novel)

Stars:

Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 37 wins & 80 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Viggo Mortensen	...	Tom Stall
Maria Bello	...	Edie Stall
Ed Harris	...	Carl Fogarty
William Hurt	...	Richie Cusack
Ashton Holmes	...	Jack Stall
Peter MacNeill	...	Sheriff Sam Carney
Stephen McHattie	...	Leland
Greg Bryk	...	Billy
Kyle Schmid	...	Bobby Singer
Sumela Kay	...	Judy Danvers
Gerry Quigley	...	Mick
Deborah Drakeford	...	Charlotte
Heidi Hayes	...	Sarah Stall
Aidan Devine	...	Charlie Roarke
Bill MacDonald	...	Frank Mulligan

Storyline

This thrill-packed actioner follows a mild-mannered man, named Tom Stall, who becomes a local hero through an act of violence, he lives a happy and quiet life with his lawyer wife and their two children in the small town of Millbrook, Indiana. But one night their idyllic existence is shattered when Tom foils a vicious attempted robbery in his diner. Sensing danger, he takes action and saves his customers and friends in the self-defense killings of two-sought-after criminals. Heralded as a hero, Tom's life is changed overnight, attracting a national media circus, which forces him into the spotlight. Uncomfortable with his newfound celebrity, Tom tries to return to the normalcy of his ordinary life only to be confronted by a mysterious and threatening man who arrives in town believing Tom is the man who wronged him in the past. As Tom and his family fight back against this case of mistaken identity and struggle to cope with their changed reality, they are forced to confront their ...

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Plot Keywords:

robbery | small town cafe | mobster | attempted robbery | small town | 

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Taglines:

A film by David Cronenberg

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal violence, graphic sexuality, nudity, language and some drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although uncredited, David Cronenberg contributed to the final shooting draft of the screenplay.

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Goofs

When William Orser drives the car in front of the office at the beginning of the movie, the boom and some crewmembers are reflected in the front fender.

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Quotes

[first lines]
William Orser: [Leland and Billy walk out of the motel room] So we keep headin' east?
Leland Jones: Yeah, that's the idea.
William Orser: Stay out of the big cities?
Leland Jones: Uh-huh.
William Orser: I think I'm tired.
Leland Jones: [Leland smiles] Yeah. Me, too.

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Alternate Versions

There are some minute differences between the US and the International version when it comes to some of the violent scenes:

• Fogarty's thug, who gets his nose smashed into his skull has more blood spurt out in the International version in the shot where he is dying on the ground.
• When Joey stomps on Richie's thug's throat, he spits blood (instead of it 'welling up') and the sound effect of the neck breaking is louder. Both shots last the same length of time and use the same take, the amount of blood was simply toned down digitally for the MPAA. Most video versions outside the U.S. use the 'international version' but the shots appear in the supplements on the U.S. DVD (In the featurette titled 'Violence's History', Cronenberg shows the U.S. and international cut scenes side by side and explains the reason why there wasn't a standard 'unrated' version in the U.S. was because the changes were so small).

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Connections

Featured in De Kijk van Koolhoven: Erotica (2018)

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Soundtracks

Life of a Fool
Written by Paul Burch
Performed by Paul Burch
Courtesy of Bloodshot Records

User Reviews

Well, what did you expect?

I read through a lot of these comments, and it seems quite a few people who have given this film a bad rating based their judgment on either the sex scenes, or the gore (or both). Well, it's called "A History of Violence", and it's directed by David Cronenberg! What did they expect? The film is, simply put, amazing. Anyone who enjoys Cronenberg's other films will greatly appreciate this one. It speaks on many levels, and I suggest seeing it more than once to fully take it all in. Beautiful performances all around. I felt as though that is how people put in a situation like that would really act. I had a smile on my face the entire film because I have been waiting all summer (or longer) for a film of this caliber, and it was worth it.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA Germany Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

A History of Violence

Filming Locations:

Stoopy's Tavern, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$32,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$364,000, 25 September 2005

Gross USA:

$31,504,633

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$61,385,065

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, BenderSpink, Media I! Filmproduktion München & Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1