A History of Violence

S

sean campos

Member
saw it earlier. even though i've really never seen much Cronenberg i knew i was in good hands. i actually enjoyed the film. i had major problems with the overall story but came to appreciate its true direction, the characters and their actions. Most definatley a great use of violence (very very well used) and solid performances. I got to get netflix going on Cronenberg material.
 
If you're a Burrows fan, I highly suggest The Naked Lunch. IMHO it's Cronenberg's crowning achievement. :thumbsup:

I've been hearing really good things about The History of Violence and can't wait to check it out.
 
Just saw it tonight.

Really an awesome movie! So subtle which works great with putting you in the smalltown heroes shoes. You just really get a feeling for that life. Then the violence comes into play and WOW! Most realistic "fake" violence I think I've seen from a movie. Once I said out loud "holy ****", just cause I was so impressed. Really makes you question some things. And the sex was realistic too. Nice work all around!

The acting was amazing. Mortensen, Bello, Harris, and even Hurt - all top notch here. Some great material here for the talent to work with. One of my top movies of the year thusfar. And yet another movie I really love from Cronenberg.

EVERYONE SEE THIS MOVIE!

And Campos, rent lots of Cronenberg - good stuff!
 
oh man i just saw the trailer last night. it looks good. for some reason it thought the film was coming out in december. i gotta go watch it now
 
The trailer is one of those RARE cases where they give you just enough, and if you know Cronenberg you know to expect more than the little story they are telling in the previews. Good stuff! I even love the poster, they did nothing wrong on this one.
 
the film still makes a good impression on me after a few days. definatley a treat. i will make sure to see as much Cronenberg as possible.
 
SPOILERS!!!





i saw it and was disappointed. fascinating set up, but no surprises, really. and no matter how many times i see it, i never find the "anger and hatred turns to passionate lovemaking" scene to be very convincing. and any "point" cronenberg was trying to make was fairly pedestrian.

anyway, i would have preferred to see a film about a man mistaken for another, and because of that, is forced to employ the violent qualities of the identity he is trying to prove is not his. would have raised interesting ideas about identity. would have been interesting to see someone become like the person they've been mistaken for, rather than a drawn out reveal that he actually is that person, followed by yet another shootout that yields no answers or poses no new questions, and an overly simplistic resolution for a family in a very complicated situation.
 
I think the movie touches on a lot of human condition topics, maybe it's all political, maybe it's about Americans, maybe it's about the violent nature of humans in general. I have only seen it once, and like other Cronenberg movies I am going to assume that after multiple viewings I will have a more clear idea of what I think it's about. Sorry you were disappointed, I thought it was fantastic across the board, I just wish I could see it again, but I will wait for the DVD.

SPOILERS (below):






I think the "tough love" scene was very believeable. I mean Bello did the whole cheerleader fantasy thing earlier on in the movie (that was pretty hot!) so obviously she was down with the whole role-playing thing. Why would it be so hard to imagine that she could get all hot and bothered over his past violent lifestyle? It was a sick, twisted turn-on. There's obviously some shady depth to her character as well.
 
sean campos said:
the film still makes a good impression on me after a few days. definatley a treat. i will make sure to see as much Cronenberg as possible.
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That is a benchmark of a good film to me, and Cronenberg movies usually stay in my head for days after watching them. I can't wait to see this.
 
the-lyons-den.com said:
I think the "tough love" scene was very believeable. I mean Bello did the whole cheerleader fantasy thing earlier on in the movie (that was pretty hot!) so obviously she was down with the whole role-playing thing. Why would it be so hard to imagine that she could get all hot and bothered over his past violent lifestyle? It was a sick, twisted turn-on. There's obviously some shady depth to her character as well.
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i'm just saying that i've never met or dated a single woman that was turned on by being attacked or fought with. in fact, the only women i've ever known to be turned on by the threat of violence have been characters in films. so, i don't find it believable. imo, of course.
 
***SPOILERS***













I just saw it and walked out of the theater thinking.....hmmm..
I've never seen a Hollywood movie (Rated R) that had sex scenes with them doing the 69.
 
I have to say I was a little disappointed with this film, though it had some great moments. The opening scene was fabulous. Unfortunately, it went downhill from there for me. I agree with the previous post that the "theme" was a bit pedestrian. "Americans are ambivalent to violence at best and excited by it at worst, our notions of violence are drawn in shades of black and white whereas the reality is much more complicated, is violence innate?, etc." I did love watching William Hurt play against type, though. I didn't hate it by any means, it's just that my expectations were set a little higher than what was delivered.
 
For those who dont know, I rarely (like never) come in here saying that any movie was awful. So I am not saying that AT ALL about this one. I loved this movie. The characters and their motivations were all pretty much believable to me, with the exception that the son would seem to have the same sense of betrayal as the wife. I mean, he may feel lied to, but not betrayed. Tom's his dad and has always been dad. Finding out about an unknown past would not, in my opinion, make a boy feel like the man wasnt his dad any longer. Only other thing that bothered me was the unnecessary full frontal shot of the wife coming out of the shower after the stair sex scene. Robe could have been fastened, and would have been if she was really that pissed off at Tom. So, maybe that was the point. She was putting that in his face (pun intended) to let him know what he could have only as long as she agreed? I dunno, I am stretching here for a reason for that particular shot.

And I agree with the other poster that the graphic gore was definitely a standout. Well done and didnt seem to be showing it to glorify the gore. But to show how ugly violence is.

Now for my real gripe, and that would be the other moviegoers. SOMEONE brought in a gaggle of kids to see this movie. And unbelievably, did NOT collect them all during/after the cheerleader scene to go see Wallace and Grommit's Were-Rabbit thing. I mean, the violence was unfortunately probably not much more than they are used to on tv or video games, but the graphic sex sent them into uncomfortable fits of giggling and gasping to the point where the mom was very audibly telling them to shut up. What's wrong with these people????? :angry: Definitely not a movie for children. The graphic scenes were well done and fit very well into the context of the story and the relationship between Tom and his wife. But c'mon, people. Use your common sense.
 
There were the most IRRITATING high school kids sitting in front of us. They were obviously stoned out of they're minds, and went for no other reason than to make stupid comments and giggle. It was REALLY distracting, one of my friends got up, walked by they're seats gently brushed them all in the head, and got a manager, who told them to shut the hell up.

All good now, right? WRONG. Some really stupid girl behind us kept asking her boyfriend really dumb questions, and then when he was answering, she would ask "Wait, what did that guy just say?"

It's not fair for me to give a review of this film, because I had such a horrible experience, probably the worst I've ever encountered. I liked it, but I missed a lot of subtleties that would make it better. So I shall wait for DVD.
 
TC-

I always try to go to movies during the workday. I take a half day off every week mainly for this reason. And I go on like, Wednesdays. Or work extra time so I can take a long lunch. There is a big theater across the street from where I work. But yeah, I dont really like going to movies because of the crowds. I dont do well in crowds. The "Joey" in me comes out and bad things happen. :grin:
 
TC said:
That's hot, will you ravage me on the stairs? :grin: :grin:
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You're a little young for me, kiddo, but if you talk and giggle during my movie, I'll make sure the only sound emitting from your face is the whistle of air past the exposed cartilage that used to be contained INSIDE your nasal bridge.

Will that do? :engel017:
 
LOL I just got home from watching it, and am still a little irritated at the mom and her brood of prepubescents. :laugh:
 
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