A History of Violence (2005)

A History of Violence 2005



Details:
Runtime: 96 min
Country: Germany / USA
Language: English

Overview:
Director: David Cronenberg
Writer: John Wagner (graphic novel) and Vince Locke (graphic novel) ...
Release Date: 30 September 2005 (USA)
Genre: Action / Crime / Drama / Thriller
Tagline: Everyone has something to hide.

Cast:

Viggo Mortensen ... Tom Stall
Maria Bello ... Edie Stall
Ed Harris ... Carl Fogarty
William Hurt ... Richie Cusack
Ashton Holmes ... Jack Stall
Heidi Hayes ... Sarah Stall
Peter MacNeill ... Sheriff Sam Carney
Aidan Devine ... Charlie Roarke
Bill MacDonald ... Frank Mulligan

Synopsis:
A History of Violence start out in front of a quiet, rural motel in what looks like midwest farmland. A couple of men, one in his early twenties and one around fifty leave the room and make small talk while one goes in to "check out". At this point, the only strange thing is that these two men look like unlikely travelling partners. Perhaps they are a couple? Apparently not, because when the older man comes out of the office, he calmly asks the other to fill up the water bottle they are carrying in the car. When the other man goes into the office to do this, we see the motel clerk and housekeeper dead on the floor in a pool of blood. We see just how cold blooded these two murderers are when the man shoots the motel clerk's young daughter who appears from behind a door looking scared. Meanwhile, we meet Tom Stall, a friendly diner owner, and his attractive wife and children. Everybody in the diner appears to be your stereotypical friendly, salt of the earth, small town types. The only unpleasant character we see in the entire town is an insecure bully at the local high school who is aching to start a fight with Tom's son. While Tom's son is no wimp, he clearly doesn't have the heart for violence and declines to succumb to the bully's taunts. That night, the bully and his buddy are driving around, obviously bored, when they spot Tom's son and his girlfriend sitting on a corner. As they begin to drive over, presumably to taunt the couple, they almost collide with a pickup truck. The bully gives the finger to the passengers but thinks twice when he sees the looks on their faces. These are the killers who glare at the two high schoolers with a look that implies "you're about to make a big mistake." The killers then go to the diner while one rants about how he is "sick of these damn podunk towns and the damn podunks in them." Although the diner is closing, the killers calmly walk up to the counter, sit down and politely ask for coffee. When told that the cafe is closing, the older man demands coffee in a much less polite fashion. Tom, always diplomatic, agrees. When a waitress is about to leave at the end of her shift, the younger man grabs her, points a gun at her face and makes it clear that he has no problem with killing her. When Tom realizes that the killer is going to shoot, he smashes a pot of hot coffee into the face of the older man, leaps over the counter and tackles the younger man, who fires a few shots that miss. Tom, having grabbed the older man's gun proceeds to shoot the younger man, who falls through the door's window. Thinking the situation is under control, Tom forgets about the older man who, while lying on the floor, pulls a hidden knife and jams it into Tom's foot. Letting out a shriek, Tom shoots the man through the head, turning his jaw into a mangled, bloody mess. When the media, who treat Tom as a hero, want to interview him, he declines and goes to the hospital. Fortunately, the injury is relatively minor and merely causes him to limp for a few days. A day later, Tom is back working at the cafe when three well dressed men, who are obviously not local, enter the crowded cafe and sit at the counter. The leader, who wears a suit and dark sun glasses, proceeds to ask for a cup of coffee and calls Tom "Joey." He then proceeds to emphasize the name "Joey" several more times before Tom finally corrects him. Clearly, this man feels he knows Tom, and just as clearly, these men are trouble. When Tom's wife gets annoyed at their comments, the leader hands Tom a hundred dollar bill and says, "Now we're paying customers." When Tom's wife threatens to call the police, the men leave. Next, the men are driving down a rural road when a patrol car pulls them over. Although the policeman is seasoned and looks like he means business, the three men, especially the leader, appear not the least bit fazed by his implied threats. "We're tourists" and "Keep up the good work, officer," are the leader's replies. However, these men have just begun to stalk Tom and his family. After Tom sees their car going in the direction of his house, he limps back to his house and, huffing and puffing, runs in and grabs his shotgun only to find that nobody is coming. Later, the leader of the men, Carl Fogerty, begins talking to Tom's wife in a mall. The next day, Tom's son, Billy, gets confronted by the bully again and is unable to walk away. Enraged at the continued taunts, Billy suddenly proceeds to seriously beat down the bully and his buddy putting the bully in the hospital. We now see that Tom and his son can be capable of serious damage if they are pushed far enough. When Tom sees the men's car pull up to his house, he is surprised to see one of the men step out of the car holding Billy. The leader, Mr. Fogerty, makes it clear that he knows who Tom really is and that Tom has no choice but to get into the car and drive back to Philadelphia to "see some people." Tom agrees, and the men let Billy run into the house. When the men tell Tom to get in the car, Tom suggests that "it would be better if you just leave." When one of the men points a gun at him, Tom's wife watches from the house as Tom proceed to grab the man's arm, break it, smash the man's nose repeatedly with his palm, and shoot the other man dead. Before Tom can finish, Mr. Fogerty shoots Tom in the shoulder and asks Tom if he has anything to say. Tom replies, "I should have killed you back in Philly." Just before Tom gets shot, Mr. Fogerty gets a load of buckshot courtesy of Billy who was behind him. Tom proceeds to look at his son with a glare that further suggests that Tom may have lived a different life "back in Philadelphia." In the hospital, Tom admits that he was in fact a mob hitman named Joey Cusack, but after killing several made men, left the life and became a new man, Tom Stall. Although his wife is naturally shocked and angry at the revelation, she later engages in a pretty intense sex scene with Tom/Joey that contrasts with their more standard lovemaking in an earlier scene. Later, in bed, Tom is awakened by a phone call by his brother, Richie Cusack, who makes an implied threat when he says, "Are you gonna come see me, or do I have to come see you?" Tom drives to Philadelphia and meets a young, rough looking guy in a bar. The man drives him to a large mansion where Tom meets a well dressed, confident man who appears very happy to see his "little brother." After some small talk about Tom's new life, Richie begins telling Tom about all the trouble caused by "Joey's" former actions. Tom, who no longer wants any part of the mob life, asks Richie, "what do I have to do to make things right?" Richie calmly replies, "You can die, Joey," and turns around, so as not to watch the driver as he wraps a wire around Tom's throat and tries to strangle him. Unfortunately for this man, he doesn't know just how dangerous an adversary Joey can be and Tom/Joey proceeds to beat the man, and several others to death with his bare hands. Thinking that Joey has run out the door, Richie goes out to find him and is surprised when Joey gets the jump on him and shoots Richie in the head. Finally, Tom/Joey drives back home and sits at his table where he and his family silently and intently stare at the table while they eat dinner.

Oh wooooooooooooooooooow

very long!
The whole movie in words!
you did good job Vig!!
Thanks for this too!

I loves Viggo In AHoV!!!

From thehdroom.com:

A History of Violence Blu-ray Details and Cover Art
October 27, 2008



Warner Home Video has released a few more details and the cover art for New Line's February 10 Blu-ray debut for A History of Violence.

The Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris and Maria Bello thriller will be presented on a BD-25 disc with a 1080p transfer. The 5.1 audio track's format is not known at this time.

Supplemental features are the same found on the previously released DVD, all of which are detailed below.

Feature commentary with director David Cronenberg
Violence's History: United States version vs. International version - A look at scenes that were altered for violence in the United States
Too Commercial for Cannes - This piece follows the cast and crew to Cannes for the film's showing
Acts of Violence - A look at several central scenes within the movie
Act 1 - Random
Act 2 - American Hero
Act 3 - Bully
Act 4 - Eye for an Eye
Act 5 - Lies
Act 6 - Gangster Sex
Act 7 - Sibling Rivalry
Act 8 - Hope
Additional footage
Scene 44 with optional commentary by director David Cronenberg
The Unmaking of Scene 44 - Featurette detailing the creation of Scene 44
Theatrical trailer
A History of Violence will join its Oscar-themed companion Amadeus on Blu-ray February 10 with a slightly lower retail price of $28.99. Check out the high-resolution artwork below, and be on the lookout for pre-order information in the days ahead.