A History of Violence doesn’t just back itself into a corner, it scales the wall and hangs like a frightened animal. Adequately directed by David Cronenberg, it nevertheless fails to measure up to much of its own premise, mistaking unspoken ambiguity for resolution. Film audiences will not and should not be pleased by its failure to address with certainty or finality any of its thematic conceits. And the filmmakers should be more conscientious of creating an open-ended film, knowing the trailer will play up all its major dramatic points, promising a conclusion the film does not deliver.
Viggo Mortenson plays Tom Stall, happily married to Edie (Maria Bello) and father of two children. They live in a small town and are friends with most of the townspeople. Tom runs a small diner. Everything changes when Tom handily kills two killers in his diner. The town hails him as a conquering hero. But a dark man named Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) and his two associates confront Tom, calling him by a different name and asking questions about his past. Tom denies it all, but his wife begins to have doubts about who he says he is.
It is with this premise that the film hinges all its hopes, and audiences are thus built up with the expectation of resolution that never comes. Tom’s history of violence is one fraught with murder and mayhem, but the whys and hows of his conversion are unanswered and, in an almost criminal negligence, is never even asked by his family or friends. Tom’s outing by Carl leads to a sexual and familial tension that culminates in a bizarre mating incident in the Stall house. After it is over, it is as if the act itself has confirmed Edie’s suspicions about Tom, that he is truly a dark and vicious killer underneath his calm demeanor.
The film excels in some areas. The camera work is splendid, covering an odd array of slow tracking shots, minimal dollying up to frame the subject in a manner that suggests an underlying secret slowly being unmasked. Cronenberg also gives ample time to develop the three main characters, showing their motivations and yet also holding something back. The result is a satisfyingly sordid and suspenseful mood. One feels the itch of needing to know what will happen next. Sadly, the toxic ending makes it all a moot point and a veritable pain to watch as the film unravels in the last five minutes.
William Hurt turns in a flawless, almost invisible performance as Richie, a gangster with a score to settle. Likewise, Viggo Mortenson fills Tom’s shows with ambiguity and hidden power, a geniality that belies his grotesque nature underneath. Maria Bello is spirited and a worthy screen companion; her breakdown and apprehension of the situation is curiously sterile, though, and one is never quite sure what she truly feels about Tom’s hidden side.
With so many possible conclusions that might have played out in this story, it is disappointing that Cronenberg and writer Josh Olson chose to leave the ending open and unresolved. This is a weakness that drops the film from a credible drama and suspense into a well-orchestrated and acted soap opera.
Fringe Rating: out of 5