History of Violence is an interesting piece of cinema. I would not call it a masterpiece but I do see some thought through elements that make this movie stands out and intellectually challenging. I like David Cronenberg's cinema. His movies are much more than wicked story, "Videodrome" re-invented sci-fi. "Dead Zone" besides being the best Stephen King's adaptation is a gem as far as character development is concern. "The Fly" is visually stunning and "Crash" speaks directly to our phantasm in a very kinetic manner.
History of violence is no exception there is more to see than the shear scenes of violence. In fact in "History of Violence" the important word might not be so much "Violence" but maybe more so "History". In his latest work of art David Cronenberg depicts the story of a common American man and his family,Tom Stall who could be your average Middle West guy, except he is not...A dramatic incident brings back the dark past of this modern days so called hero. Now you could stop right here and that would be just fine but think about it, don't you feel there is something more to this story? Indeed David Cronenberg is drawing a parallel that speaks directly to our guts. Like modern America was build over a dark and violent times (Indian genocide, slavery...) Tom Stall's model life was build over violence and murder. The past of our respective country is our heritage, it is not a conscious one but it conditions the way we act and more directly the way we live. We have a collective violent past and therefore we are even deep underneath violent people. Moreover because we are violent deep inside we have a History (capital H) of Violence. The problem is this violence seems so natural and justified that it becomes profoundly human. Indeed we are men and women of violence. There is an animal hidden (or not) in our very soul and the love scene in the stairs demonstrates how fascinating and part of ourselves this "animality" is. This History is a genetic gift we pass to the next generation and the scenes where Tom Stall Son fights at school seems like a testimony, a way to show his family (the human kind) that he belongs. Our past will always resurface one way or another.
We need to be conscious that the demons haunting our collective memory (the one of our respective countries) will come knocking on our door. We have a History of Violence and we need to confront it in order to tame it
History of violence is no exception there is more to see than the shear scenes of violence. In fact in "History of Violence" the important word might not be so much "Violence" but maybe more so "History". In his latest work of art David Cronenberg depicts the story of a common American man and his family,Tom Stall who could be your average Middle West guy, except he is not...A dramatic incident brings back the dark past of this modern days so called hero. Now you could stop right here and that would be just fine but think about it, don't you feel there is something more to this story? Indeed David Cronenberg is drawing a parallel that speaks directly to our guts. Like modern America was build over a dark and violent times (Indian genocide, slavery...) Tom Stall's model life was build over violence and murder. The past of our respective country is our heritage, it is not a conscious one but it conditions the way we act and more directly the way we live. We have a collective violent past and therefore we are even deep underneath violent people. Moreover because we are violent deep inside we have a History (capital H) of Violence. The problem is this violence seems so natural and justified that it becomes profoundly human. Indeed we are men and women of violence. There is an animal hidden (or not) in our very soul and the love scene in the stairs demonstrates how fascinating and part of ourselves this "animality" is. This History is a genetic gift we pass to the next generation and the scenes where Tom Stall Son fights at school seems like a testimony, a way to show his family (the human kind) that he belongs. Our past will always resurface one way or another.
We need to be conscious that the demons haunting our collective memory (the one of our respective countries) will come knocking on our door. We have a History of Violence and we need to confront it in order to tame it