Review – A History of Violence

Last time around (Spider) David Cronenberg appeared to be trying to re-invent himself as David Lynch. When that didn’t work out, I guess he decided to try for Quentin Tarantino. This is a little better, but still not as good as if he’d just be himself. Viggo Mortensen stars as a small-town diner owner who foils a robbery attempt by killing the would-be bandits. The unwanted publicity that results draws the attention of a one-eyed mobster (Ed Harris) who comes to town insisting that our hero is actually someone other than who he claims to be. The story isn’t all that interesting, and the characters are stiff and awkward throughout; that’s something unwelcome that managed to survive from Cronenberg’s early career. However, the director’s skill with blood and guts serves him well in the spots where some gore is needed to punctuate a thought. Mildly amusing