A History of Violence

Animal Boything · #1 10-01-2005, 06:34 PM

I saw this movie mere minutes ago... what a treat. It's Cronenberg cleverly disguised as mainstream fare, and it has the combined strengths of both. It's tense and darkly funny, and explores the themes of violence and family in a thought-provoking way. The cast is amazing... I was particularly impressed with Maria Bello's performance, but it was full of great actors in interesting roles. Viggo Mortensen is by now well-established as a bankable leading man, and he did not disappoint.

I don't want to talk about the plot just yet, because it's best to see it without knowing too much, but after a few more of you have, it will be fun to discuss.

ndrwrld · #2 10-02-2005, 12:59 PM

i'm all over this.
the trailer is sweet...not too much info...just enough to pull me WAY in.

grady · #3 10-02-2005, 05:00 PM

Saw this last night and really enjoyed the film. It's very simple, and you have to tread lightly as to not give away much of the plot and the turns the film takes, but it was quite good.

b.miller · #4 10-03-2005, 03:09 PM

good. it managed to get overhyped for me in 2 days though so i'll just say good.

grady · #5 10-03-2005, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b.miller

good. it managed to get overhyped for me in 2 days though so i'll just say good.

It was getting overhyped for me for months along with Broken Flowers as both films gained wide acclaim and awards at the Cannes Film Festival last May. But as the hype started to grow and grow for Broken Flowers and my attempt to see it was thwarted by a full auditorium, I resigned to hold off on seeing it until it goes to the beer theaters.

As for Violence, it's a new film from David Cronenberg and I simply couldn't wait, plus the hype hadn't reached a fever pitch level that Broken Flowers seemed to so quickly.

However, who knows though. If I had missed my opportunity to see A History of Violence this weekend and then began to be bombarded by acclaim and praise, I might have backed away as well. But the hype doesn't seem to be nearly as strong for Violence as it was for Flowers.

ffolkes · #6 10-03-2005, 10:28 PM

I've been waiting for this movie for a looong time. Too long.

m.g. · #7 03-20-2006, 04:56 PM

Definitely one of the five best english speaking movie i saw last year...

adam · #8 03-20-2006, 05:02 PM

I think it's definitely interesting how much this movie has divided people's opinions. I haven't yet had anyone try and vocalize what they like about it, though. I mean, in any significant detail.

m.g. · #9 03-20-2006, 05:42 PM

my technical vocabulary will be... erm... very poor, sorry, but :

Very good script
Cast very well distributed
Amazing editing
Almost perfect technically (light, art design, etc...like almost all Cronenberg's movies)
...AND brilliantly directed

adam · #10 03-20-2006, 06:30 PM

See, but I felt it had nothing to say thematically (that wasn't cliched), and that the plot was almost wholly predictable (no tension). So, without tension or a thematic statement, I felt the whole thing was kind of redundant. I like Cronenberg, so I'm open to the option that I missed something, but I found it rather unengaging.