A History of Violence (2005)

Split-personality characters rarely come as mysterious as Viggo Mortensen's in A History of Violence.

On one side, he's Tom Stall - married with two kids, the mild-mannered owner of a diner in small-town Indiana. People in his town know him because, well, everyone knows everyone. Until, that is, he kills a couple of criminals one night in his diner in self-defense. Then people know him for being a hero.

And it's then that his other side comes out. The news of his actions travels fast, and before long, Tom's being stalked by a creepy mobster from Philadelphia (Ed Harris) who believes him to be one of his crew and, in fact, called Joey Cusack. Another mobster. A violent one. A killer.

It's a credit to director David Cronenberg that A History of Violence doesn't reveal anything too soon. But unfortunately what ends up being the film's biggest downfall is that there are some things it doesn't reveal at all. So in the end, the Cronenberg-Viggo pairing IS, once again, a success. Just not as big as the duo's next excursion, Eastern Promises.

However, the movie's good enough for the most part to keep us interested in spite of these shortcomings. In addition to the mystery behind Stall/Cusask (which one is he?), the movie's true gusto as a thriller comes from the manner in which Tom's conflict comes to affect his family. We're left not just worrying for his safety and outcome, but for theirs as well. We see it strike his wife, Edie (Maria Bello), whose paranoia turns to fear and again into anger over her husband's predicament. But it comes through strongest in his son, Jack (Ashton Holmes), who transforms from a mild-mannered high school loser to a vicious fighter as the movie progresses.

Unfortunately, the plot holes prove too many to overcome, particularly toward the end of things. There are also some miscasting issues, namely Bello - who should really just retire from cinema altogether. But if Bello's performance is of her typical, unsympathetic self, then there is another miscasting in A History of Violence that is truly deplorable - William Hurt as another Philly mobster, unconvincing and overhammed, apparently, enough to receive an Academy Award nod.

All in all, not bad. Cronenberg and Co. have whipped up a crafty, satisfying thriller that should wind up entertaining all. But if we consider his pairings with Mortensen as we would a sex life (not entirely inappropriate, considering their next film), A History of Violence is kind of like that all-important "first time" - something to talk about, something to remember, but ultimately not as good as what's to come.

3 stars out of 4