A History of Violence 2005
Directed by David Cronenberg · 96 mins · 2,696 views
Synopsis
Trailers
Reviews (182)
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a man who will stop at NOTHING for the right to keep living in Indiana……
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Unforgiven for plaid shirt and jeans Southwestern Ontario farm dads. Economical old-fashioned neo-western/gangster-crime pulp material with pretty broad ideas regarding identity construction and the corrosive effects of violence and the protection/performance of The Family Unit layered into a narrative that traffics in cliché macho mob revenge fantasy-isms. But one that is very effectively realized with a freshly bruised, existential feeling riding underneath it; an open-wound stickiness, brutality, sexuality and moral weight that only Cronenberg approaching the familiar with the somber and intellectual engagement of an art film could pack it with. Even when tasked with giving us the sex and violence required of the genre he’s operating in, I’ve always appreciated how awkward, gruesome and unheroic the moments of action are…
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WWill Sloan 8 月 22, 2026
A fat-free, relentlessly linear entertainment machine that states its ideas plainly, and whose implications are vast, troubling, and irresolvable. To what extent is the self a construct? If we tell ourselves and the world that we are a certain way, does that make it true? We present different, sometimes contradictory facets of ourselves when we interact with a grandparent, a spouse, a boss, or a bar buddy – is one of these selves more “real” than another? Have you ever had the uncanny feeling of seeing a person who you knew a long time ago and don’t really know anymore, and feeling simultaneously, paradoxically closer to and more distant from an older version of yourself? In theme, and certainly not style, this reminds me of a film from around the same time by another famous David, Inland Empire. A rare film to take real interest in Married Sex. William Hurt hits like a silver bullet.
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Ford updated to the 21st century. History as a series of self-deceptions as myth gets subdued into role playing. Cronenberg clear direction blows everything wide open. As the title, perhaps the most wry joke in a pretty funny movie, promises, it is very surgical handled. It is a neowestern that, like most post bicentennial westerns, barely bothers to disguise that it is a mainstream art movie, but there’s hardly a ponderous note and while Cronenberg finds an impressive double balance between delivering the goods (meaning blowing heads up) and implicating the audience (meaning keeping critics happy), it has an impressive propulsive quality. A self-annihilating journey that follows as impeccable as it is inevitable towards a release. The blocking is so…
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100 David Cronenberg has frequently questioned the barriers of our physicality when confronted with the limitless potential of technology. How our bodies react when the unnatural is able to satisfy a certain itch beyond our current evolution. He’s always been on a precipice of transformation, confronted with the ghosts in the machine, broken ceilings of self and sexuality and humanism. Understanding that a new world is just around the corner, and you’re turned on by it but terrified at where the path might lead. So it’s fitting that A History of Violence is akin to a primordial soup – the genesis of tendencies and outbursts that define our past and future. The beginning of the End. Cronenberg doesn’t literally go…
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Dr. Tom&Mr. Joey Really liked it until the last part where he decided to go on a mafia killing rampage, I wish we would have seen all the damages his lies did to the family more and what would come out of it
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Fun and great acting by mortinson all tho I think the end is where for me the interesting film begins and that’s when this one finishes ahhaha
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de las mejores actuaciones de vigo mortensen, me gustó la manera en que el guión anticipa con un par de diálogos entre padre e hijo todo lo que se va a desarrollar en la película culminando con una escena final que me conmovió profundamente
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J
Bit gory, bit porny, but all in all a good film. Also, a top ten crashout of all time came from a conference about this film, performed by Ed harris. The best part is when the audience starts laughing and then stop as they realise he’s gone absolutely bonkers and not joking. Or was he??? Its up for debate. Either way great clip. I recommend.
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The Criterion Challenge 2026 #15 Can a person truly change? Even if they believe they have changed, can they completely kill the monster inside them? Or do they lie to themselves just as they have lied to everyone else? And what if that monster is also a killer? I think this film is the perfect choice for exploring exactly these questions. It shows us how violence and never-ending lies affect not only ourselves, but also our families and the people we love. And yet, it also reminds us just how unbreakable the bond of love can be.
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Waiting on the cusack reveal
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this is the most unintentionally funny movie ever. It takes it’s self very seriously, which makes sense for the subject matter. There were just a couple of scripting & acting choices that took me out of it & made me bust out laughing
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A very slow waste of time
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L
I know it’s prolly the least freaky Cronenberg, but the practical effects rule so hard. The vibes here rule, the couple of sex scenes are so intense and raw and actually horny but like not in a typical way, in the way that you see most of their bodies and they wind up in such extreme positions it feels so visceral, which is a perfect contrast to the actual viscera from the moments of intense violence (the pulsing wounds; the…
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Perfect runtime.
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viggo 😍😍😍😍
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You did all of that to start a new life just to live in Indiana
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cuando garchan en la escalera sentí cosas
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AAlex 8 月 21, 2026
nothing lasts forever…
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The acting in this is so off putting and bizarre. The wife is gorgeous and the husband is just some stiff weirdo, who’s super awkward, in the first act. This movie is over the top corny. I laughed out loud ironically at several points due to the script, acting, and the awkwardness of the main character (don’t care to look up his name). The premise holds a lot of promise, but fails to deliver.
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i can’t believe this movie managed to make me hate viggo mortensen
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J
Huge Viggo carry aside from Ed Harris. Eastern Promises superior in the double feature but i don’t think anyone’s arguin that
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J
David Cronenberg’s raw and twisted take on the darkness within suburbia and the frailty of the American Dream. Very odd—there is always something off-putting/awkward about the acting, script, and direction, but a deliberate choice this is, and I loved A History of Violence all the more for it. Reminded me of David Lynch in ways, which makes me excited to check out more Cronenberg and revisit his older filmography I feel I did not appreciate nor fully grasp as much…
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This is jam packed with awfulness. The performances overall were subpar, the dialogue was cheap and somehow both of those elements were worsened when Jack was on screen. The plot was mediocre at best and just felt flat throughout. I’m bummed, had this one on the list for a while. At least Maria Bello was fine as all hell. 4.2/10
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I wonder if the soundtrack for Heavy Rain took inspiration from Howard Shore here… Also William Hurt being Oscar-nominated for his one scene here is so deserved
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Une réalisation sobre et efficace, avec des dialogues courts et précis. L’acting fait énormément passer par les regards et les silences, et j’ai beaucoup aimé cette façon de raconter sans tout expliquer. La violence n’est pas que physique et on le perçois ! Peu de personnages, peu de dialogues, mais une vraie intensité. J’ai simplement trouvé certains passages autour de l’adolescent un peu décorrélés de l’histoire principale.
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What a great family film! It might not be the happiest but I truly believe the three instances of violence can really have a lifelong impact on those you care about the most. Nothing like a good cronenberg to make you reflect on how some actions can react on your sex life and relations with your children!
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This movie really annoys me until it wins me over and by the end I’m calling it a masterpiece. It’s a good reminder to trust that if a great director is doing something that feels way off or amateurish it’s probably by design. But the baseball scene will forever be a disgrace.
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J
My first David Cronenberg film, after not finishing The Fly. I’ll be back for more. Good food this
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The Letterboxd ‘Similar Movie’ Chain #22 Tom Stall lives in a very nice house in a very nice town where he has a very nice business. He also has a very nice family and a very nice wife. Tom Stall has a very nice life. But that life is about to be exploded. It is a question I have often asked myself. What must it be like to hide a secret for years or even decades? To have done something…
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A History or Cuckness
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whaaat if tom says UZATMAYALIM kardesim kapandi servis?
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The acting feels so wooden but it had some good moments. Ed Harris has looked the same for 30 years.
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A great meditation on the extend of violence and forgiveness. A history of violence is a movie that aims to ask: How much should you lose if in a past life you were a monster? Should it be little as you turned your life around or should you be unable to escape and be punished with the actions of your past? Are you even still the person you were when you committed these sins so long ago? A history of…
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I enjoyed this one but I don’t understand why I’ve heard it talked about in an especially masterful way, was fairly straightforward viewing but I’m probably being dumb and missing some stuff. 2nd sex scene was incredibly weighty and the most complex part but even then I am not floored by the film
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Don’t you know who I think I am?
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Jhon wick but boring af
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Horny ex-mobster lives a peaceful family life till the spaghetti mafia comes knocking.
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Cronenberg’s special effects and the incredible acting of the main cast (especially Harris & Hurt) almost cover up for the storytelling. There felt like themes that could have been explored in depth, like “When can Christ’s forgiveness run out?”, is reformation actually possible or nature vs nurture in children, considering the actions of the son. Felt like any of that would have been more amenable than “Well, you’re a bad guy who beat this bad guy.. but what about this other bad guy?” I yearn for the original script with the ridiculous chaos just for Cronenberg body horror.
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weird ADR in a few spots. maybe it’s just become fashionable to polish that away, where it didn’t used to be? i need to sit with it for a while before i resolve what meaning i think most of this intended; beautiful every step of the way in any case. really hot, INCREDIBLE fights-i need to make a note to find other movies with this stunt team. heartbreaking. i used a free trial of cinemax on prime to watch this, and i can’t recommend it enough
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The concept of this movie is good on the surface but, it made me laugh a lot. For some reason some parts felt like Twin Peaks
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“Fuck you, Joeeeyyyyy.” not to hyperbolize but one of the best line readings of all time
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The first name to appear in the credits is Jake Weiner
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uh ive never seen a movie where my gripe is about the cinematography, this movie is so poorly filmed and written and acted and the score sucks – its so awkward 😭 i dont remember the last time i saw something thats all of those things and it wasnt even at least a little funny. this movie is so boring. Extra half star because i couldnt finish it and i feel bad + viggo ❤️
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CCalvin 8 月 21, 2026
Great movie. The way Viggo switches between Tom and Joey is insane. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad Ed Harris performance…..he fucking rocks
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I really think these kids are making a big deal out of nothing
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I’ve seen a lot of folks calling this movie subtle. I get why they say that but I think this movie is actually just a straight ahead suspense film. And, viewed that way, this movie is fine. Viggo is punching way above his weight, the editing moves well, and Cronenberg crafts a couple of neat shots. Not sure this movie does much more than that.
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Lluz 8 月 21, 2026
rewatch en dynamo oh yeahhh
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K
Viggo has never been sexier
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K
A History of Violence was okay, but it never really pulled me in the way I hoped it would. There’s a genuinely interesting story buried underneath everything. The premise has a lot of potential, and once the pieces start coming together, there are some solid moments and ideas about identity, family, and the consequences of the past. My biggest problem was the pacing. The movie moves way too slowly for me, especially considering how much tension the story could have…
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Entertaining as fuck but what the fuck was the point. Didnt get to see the cusack and gave us too much bush
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Great movie, just could’ve been a little longer.
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“in this family, we do not solve our problems by hitting people!” then he hit his son honestly idk how to feel about this movie, i loved it even if it felt a bit empty (i loved the gun scenes though, they were rough and brutal, not romanticised). just a simple watch with no unexpected plot twists + the acting was great
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Quite simply, you do not mess with Aragorn
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There’s vitally important footage for Viggo fans and a beautiful Howard Shore soundtrack, but watching this movie felt like a chore. It feels like a premise with nothing under the hood. I really do not buy the way these characters think and act. What do you mean your husband called urging you to get the shotgun because THEY’RE COMING‼️ and you were so scared out of your gourd you almost blew your husband’s head right off when he burst through…
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Past will always come back at the most unexpected moment, destroy everything everything that you have built in ruins Violence is vengeful cycle, only ending when you did. Incredible plot with fantastic acting by Viggo and Mario. That violent outburst at the stairs was a very powerful scene and the pain afterwards was extreme
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#1 dad lore download
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i liked this but it didn’t feel super special tbh even though it’s one of cronenbergs most popular films. felt very different from all of the other ones i’ve seen
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Achei a história muito interessante, gostei do clima político e distópico e achei as interpretações muito boas mas senti que foi mesmo muito monótono e teórico. Tudo o que foi explicado através do diálogo podia ter sido extendido em etapas de maior impacto.
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Oh so cronenberg in a nutshell is “hey this movie is petty good but… where they clothes at?”
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quién diría que esto lo hizo la misma persona que hizo la mosca. la primer hora maso está bastante bien
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what the film was trying to tell me: even the most unsuspecting and docile people have a darkness hidden deep inside them and are capable of extreme violence when pushed what i’ll remember from the film: viggo mortensen slutted out in an unbuttoned shirt and silver cross necklace
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Maria Bello is so underrated as an actor. I actually feel embarrassed by the fact that I haven’t appreciated her enough to this point. I’m sorry.
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Directed like a comedy, written like a satire. scored like a period drama/LOTR knock off (it’s ok Howard you don’t need to put french horns in everything). I expected a lot more from this but it’s just so jumbled and misaligned. So many times I wished for an interesting twist e.g. the son let Fogarty into the house, Richie kidnapped the family and held them hostage in Philly, anything!!!!
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I like it—short and straight to the point. Besides the two unnecessary seggs scenes it was great, and Jack had me hyped twice at the end.
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Viggo Mortensen went full John Wick in the last 10 minutes… I was really impressed with the buildup in this film. It lulls you into falling for Joey’s new life, almost making you take his side, before that chat between Fogarty and Edie flips a switch and the film truly takes off. 85/100
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Aragorn finally gets his quiet life as a king in Indiana. No heroic music, no slow-mos. Just a man who tried to throw his sword into the sea and the sea threw it right back. He is definitely someone worthy of following into helms deep.
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Ore 21:15 parte la proiezione al cinema all’aperto, in contemporanea partono anche i fulmini e i tuoni in lontananza. Dopo mezz’ora il diluvio universale e mi tocca finirmelo a casa invece che sul grande schermo. Chiunque stia pregando per il mio downfall pray harder perché non basterà così poco a farmi cadere
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The ‘climax’ kinda sucks? Why did it turn into a generic shootout scene. I feel like the closing scene should have been slightly longer
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Tight, well directed and performed. Simply nothing to complain about here.
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I was already struggling to take this movie seriously when William Hurt showed up with a fucking chinstrap beard
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Not sure I liked this, my first Cronenberg film so I can’t really tell what he’s about yet. At some point I felt we were just getting started but then realized the film was going to be over soon. I guess life is kinda complicated for some people
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Did not like this film editing and adr was absolutely awful and the acting was shite aswell could’ve put up with it if the story had any supstance Got a half star for the random nude scene made me laugh
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This film unfortunately just didn’t leave much of an impact on me. Was expecting something weirder or more complex from Cronenberg. The acting was great though.
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I have no idea what has drawn me to this movie for so long but ive been meaning to get to this for years at this point and im glad it lived up to my expectations. This feels like such a cliche and generic story and I can’t really describe how but this works on a completely different wavelength than the rest of its kind that makes it just hit insanely different. Just really good I am glad I finally got to this.
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The two conjugal scenes between Tom and Edie — one tender, cast as a “high-school fantasy,” the other rough on the staircase after Joey’s identity is exposed — show that Cronenberg treats violence and desire as flowing from the same source: both are expressions of an instinctual force that civilization and social roles work to repress. “A History of Violence” appears minimal in form and generic in narrative, but is in fact a philosophical meditation on how far “identity” is…
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Some weird stuff but very solid story and acting, gore was kinda cool at points too
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I don’t advocate violence, but this was just a great watch of a man beating ass.
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It is easy to see the twist once the story starts going but a great dive into second chances and trying to truly live a new life after one filled with regret. I felt this was the second time I saw Ed Harris just feel flat or off or something (this movie and the cleaner). I loved Ed Apollo 13 and the Truman show, maybe his more serious villain just doesn’t make me believe or something like that. Love seeing Aragorn in other movies!
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It’s Always Sunny in Eastern Promises
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Dawg is just too tuff to be average
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This was great, nice neat story with some great action in it.
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Kind of has the aesthetic of a TV movie from the 90s. The violence is crisp and legible and the writing js pretty good. There’s kind of a languidity to this that gives it a distinctive feel. The restless torpor underscores not only the inevitability of violence but the inescapability of one’s past.
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CCésar 8 月 20, 2026
Tjr surpris par Cronenberg, top top top réal. Top thriller film, à voir si vous souhaitez prendre votre petite claque du jeudi soir.
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Almost Fargo level dry humor mixed with escalating violence as we go along. Kept the suspense up about Joey Cusack without revealing anything apart from Fogarty’s eye massacre and it only elevated the scenes when the switch flipped in Tom Stall.
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Os filmes do Cronenberg (ou pelo menos os mais destacados) focam muito em crise da interface homem-tecnologia, muitas vezes num processo constituído por costume > violência > fetiche. Mas em Marcas da Violência, uma história mais “pé no chão” parece mostrar o que vem após tudo isso, o abandono desse fetiche, seguindo um assassino que alegadamente gostava de matar, que vai viver no interior e busca uma família tradicional. Porém, tendo que retornar à violência e, ao final do filme, na excelente…
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Love how you can totally see a completely normal, generic version of this story, but Cronenberg just adds this freaky, violent varnish on it, and makes the ending way more depressing than it would in the regular drama
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Full frontal bush, 69, and MUG root beer
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Viggo is great–this is somehow the first thing I’ve seen starring him outside of LOTR–and the goal of deconstructing The American Dream’s relationship to violence were right up my alley but the actual process/journey did notttttt move me how I wanted it to. And that script… no ma’am. Last shot was incredible though love Viggo obvs and Maria Bello! Also love the score of course it has Howard Shore written all of over it and that is my king! Especially the ending credits composition is some LOTR downnnn
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Joey would fuck up Aragorn
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where were all the violins
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That film was mid, Broham The villains are so one dimensional too a comedic point. It seems like all this movie is trying to say is “damn, people suck, dont they?” There’s no deeper themes or subtext. I’ve also always hated the cliche of “villains kill innocents for absolutely no reason just to prove theyre evil to the audience” it makes no fucking sense. If you were a hit man, you wouldn’t risk everything by killing some innocent civilians just…
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I really wanna start calling a random person Joey and cryptically asking them about Philadelphia now because I was really hoping he just actually had no clue what they were talking about
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Less than 15min of screen time is the perfect amount of William Hurt.
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Jjakebrethen 8 月 20, 2026
Terrible movie
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[المراجعة تحتوي على حرق الفلم] الفلم يطرح فكرة انو هل ممكن الانسان يكون قادر على طمس هويته القديمة ونسيانها بمجرد تغيير اسمه، مدينته، ماضيه والفلم كذلك جاوب بـ لا، وهلشي شفناه بشخصية توم، رغم انه غير اسمه، مدينته، كوّن عائلة، وحتى قام بتأليف ماضي مختلف عن ماضيه تمامًا وعاش بسلام بهويته الجديدة الا انو مشهد المطعم كان المفتاح، عرفناه بكونه توم لكن جسده كان جوي، مهما حاول اقناع نفسه الا انو عقله يتذكر تمامًا منو هوَ. استمتعت بالفلم فكريًا فقط، لذلك الفلم يستحق المشاهدة مرة وحدة ومو من النوع الي ينعاد اكثر من مرة ورغم مدته القصيرة الا انه يطرح فكرة.
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Really well paced
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for a croneberg film tackling violence, it’s strangely straightforward and simple, although maybe i’m not seeing something that’s there idk. Good film anyways
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un film un peu tordu mais prenant
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There is just something that doesn’t add up in this film about a father and husband who has a secret past in the mob. Maybe it doesn’t grapple with the violence that Joey/Sam is capable of and makes it seem like a genetic trait inherited by his son. What about all of the dead mobsters? Were they just collateral damage? While the narrative is compelling, I don’t think there is much thought about what it all means.
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I always have a fun time teaching my students about Max Weber’s description of the state as “the monopoly on legitimate violence” and make them pick apart what counts as violence and what counts as legitimate. I typically do this by sharing a hypothetical scenario in which I start punching random undergrads on the quad until campus security tases me (both acts are violent, by only one act is “legitimate” and therein lies the rub). Was briefly toying with whether…
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Perfect title. Our past, who we truly are and the violent nature of humanity is something we can hide or cover up but never truly escape from
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Only Cronenberg can make Indiana an interesting setting dawg. Couple of things: had that video of Ed Harris punching the table three times until the audience stops laughing and him asking “what is it? What is violence?”, and then he throws a pen behind him so hard it explodes and he says “that’s violence”. Maybe there is a deeper meaning and theme in this film but the big one is just, plainly, “That’s Violence”. Second, there’s an actor near the…
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J
straight butt. fell asleep midway. the other half was decent enough.
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amazing use of cemera angles, lighting, shot composition and positioning. The 2160p UHD BluRay is very crisp, i feel like this was shot using the same camera that was used in early 2000s HBO shows. Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello had a pretty electrifying chemistry, to the point of where I thought “wtf these are actors with real life families and they be doing the 69 full dive with multiple camera angles”. Damn I just love whoever directed this, pure…
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F
this is the most yellow (and blue) movie i’ve ever seen
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E
If someone successfully leaves his old world and builds a new life, does he still have to be responsible for the person he used to be?
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C
Can Tom and Joey coexist if Joey is known? Idk but the Son actor was absolutely atrocious, talk about getting pulled out of the movie.
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K
bit dull
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C
“I said COFFEE!!!”
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A
deadass gonna go raise my score of shivers bc i have never been so disappointed watching a cronenberg ts made shivers look like shakespeare. cronenberg has SUCH a strong suit for cartoonishly absurd horror which made him the biggest western name in the body horror genre only to just completely drop the ball and move towards stuff with a more dramatic tone that just does not work. if it ain’t broke don’t fix it!! as someone who loves his body…
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H
This movie is all over the place. The opening sequence is super engaging. The pacing of the first 2 or 3 minutes plants the idea that this film will be tied together really well and that I should pay attention because the minute details may play a bigger role. Nope. 15 minutes of something interesting, and then the most cliche lazy sequence ever. Intriguing villain? Maybe? Oh he wasn’t the villain it’s this other guy who is wholly uninteresting. Boring…
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L
Not my favourite from Cronenberg but interesting way of narrative (is he really Joey?) to present “violence inducing violence, violence solving violence” kind of concept. And the broader implication towards the whole American history (especially the American dream part) is brilliant
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Legends says that cronenberg did not talk to anybody before shooting a history of violence for 6 months just to master the art of garbage dialogue
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D
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NNk 8 月 20, 2026
Tonally incoherent nonsense.
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F
Good movie. Great performance by Viggo
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Une anomalie dans la filmographie de Cronenberg, mais une anomalie heureuse, ne ressemblant à rien de ce qu’il a pu proposer auparavant à ma connaissance. On s’attache à la petite famille facilement, on peut se poser la question cruciale jusqu’à la révélation et on apprécie les scènes violentes qui évitent d’être étirées en longueur, efficace.
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B
The first half was really good. Maybe I’ve seen too many crime/mobster movies but I thought the second half became a little unbelievable and lost it for me a little bit.
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M
Knew he had that dog in him from the start
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S
Maybe Viggo is only good as Aragorn.
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V
I have more questions than answers but sometimes it’s better to just not know, you know?
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M
Really enjoyed William Hurt’s performance. “HOW do you fuck that up?!?”
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A
The acting in this was actually insane. Funniest part of this movie was his brother telling him he tried to strangle him in his crib as a baby and saying “I guess all kids try do that.” Idk I liked this. Joey/Tom’s lack of giving a fuck was really hilarious. I literally thought he had amnesia in the beginning because he was such a good liar. Like you’re all over the news. A guy shows up that you KNOW recognized you, and your only act of defense is “Nope never been to Philadelphia sorry.” I admire his dedication. Like let a guy reinvent himself. Gosh.
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Mini rece spoiler. A History of violence di D. Cronenberg dimostra ancora una volta come la struttura dei suoi film sia ispirata ai grandi classici, con colpi di scena e finale aperti da interpretare. Questa volta si distacca dal tema delle macchine ormai assorbito nei primi anni 2000 e racconta la storia di una famiglia, cui padre proprietario di una caffetteria, in realtà si dimostra essere un ex killer di Philadelphia che dovrà fare i conti con il suo passato.
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3 5
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R
Cronenberg’s Marriage Story, with not one but two of the richest sex scenes ever. Watching it for the first time since it came out, wearing a wedding band of my own, I was most into what it’s expressing about love, deception, pretending, and the possibility of change. The only movie I know of that at times is in the mold of a Disney Channel Original before escalating in the most alarming ways. By the time it got to the shot of the bruises on Maria Bello’s back, I was convinced that it’s perfect. (You could make the Marriage Story joke about The Brood too.)
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J
I really like this but can also admit some of it doesn’t hold up. There’s some strange acting taking place. But I do love watching Ed Harris chew the scenery. There’s a meanness to this that I find to be both brutal and extremely entertaining. “I said….COFFEE!”
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L
I’m curious what my twin brother will think of this film.
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L
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R
Contrastes La atmosfera bien lograda de pueblo pequeño donde todo el mundo se conoce y reina la tranquilidad se verá alterada por la violencia desmedida que se desata, a partir de que Tom salga en las noticias por un acto heroico en defensa propia de su local de café. El trasfondo oscuro, la violencia sin escrúpulos, saldrá a la luz para contrastar con lo que parece ser un entorno ideal y perfecto, de una serenidad inalterable. El cambio en el…
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M
Keep it in da fam
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Z
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H
Cronenberg’s direction and an incredibly strong second half turned this from a frustrating watch to an incredibly satisfying one. While I think the hokey tone in the first half of the movie is done with a lot of intention, I still found myself distracted by a handful of dull supporting performances, some clunky writing, and an overbearing score that felt out of place. Despite that, Ed Harris elevates the movie everytime he’s on screen in this part of the film,…
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U
how is this niche
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N
A good movie – from idyllic to a Philly Mob story. Interesting from Cronenberg not my fav from him
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B
A great parable about the power and importance of context in determining how actions are interpreted.
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C
I think this movie was pretty well done but I think it should’ve been a little longer. I feel like there was a lack of story about Joey Cusack becoming Tom Stall and that if they added more details on why he had to change his identity, I would understand everything a bit more about the people’s motives wanting to kill him throughout the movie. I thought Maria Bello’s acting carried the movie for me, how emotional she gets throughout…
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S
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C
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T
Some of the most awkward hugs you’ll ever lay your eyes on in this one
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N
Weird one. Simultaneously cool and completely abysmal.
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Ttrent wayne 8 月 19, 2026
Indiana do be like this You know it’s good when the best action beats make my eyes water instead of perk up with triumph. It plays like an early 2000’s raimi superhero movie (spider guy?) w its orchestral musical cues where the hero’s “newfound” powers/violence solve all the immediate small town issues then the powers themselves become the root of the problems. The effects outweigh the cause reframing the hero into the villain. The violence becomes accepted and encouraged through…
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J
despite having a somewhat lynchian affect, it pairs better with “no country,” with senseless, modern violence coursing through america’s arterial highways, moving hand-in-hand with the pursuit of the american dream.
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L
eastern promises is better
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HHenry 8 月 19, 2026
No cell phones jus people living in the moment
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K
There’s a lot of meat left on the bone in this story. Some of the action feels clunky, which I suppose fits the bill but the mundane blended into the brutality is great. Always up vote for Ed Harris.
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V
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J
Joey wtf man . This was a banga from the jump , funny how this felt almost like a Disney channel movie but something was up. Anyways my girl was like hey isn’t that one of the moms from grown ups ?
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R
Rules
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G
Very weird movie. And not like Cronenberg weird cause that was expected. Thats also my biggest problem with it: should’ve been weirder. I know this is a comic apparently so idk if this is a good or bad adaptation. But I think not enough of Cronenbergs style is here. Viggo Mortensen gives a great performance here. Very subtle and troubled looks. Especially later on when we learn more about Tom. But if his character was allowed to be even more…
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C
The softball scene is so bad, dude is leading off on the side of the bag, bully was so into the game and literally hit a basic fly ball This movie really has no fat, we got 90 minutes and establishing the family life in 10 minutes leaves us more of what we came for This is like the original nobody movie with bob odenkirk but a lot more grounded His wife is obsessed with him This movie is very…
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L
This could’ve been so good but the surrounding characters are so one dimensional and boring that I couldn’t care less of the world this is even taking place in.
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C
I’d probably do anything to keep my average life in small town USA if I was married to Maria Bello too.
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J
A movie that is centrally about how insane and dangerous philadelphians are #gobirds
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M
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Jjacquelinein 8 月 17, 2026
Tom really be Stall-ing his unscrupulous past finally catching up to him 🤣🤣
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PPenguin258 8 月 16, 2026
Its a good thriller it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Not a ton of twists (I assumed he really was from Philly once it was brought up) but it still works. It had good pacing and a satisfying ending. The relationship between Vigo and his wife worked for me and I thought was somewhat complex and captured the difficulty the wife must have felt of realizing this loving husband was part of the mob Maybe if I can nitpick the mob and the town sheriff seem a bit incompetent, but the movie still works
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T
“David, I bet you $3 million you can’t make a normal movie”
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D
Cool movie but I felt like it was too short! Also Ed Harris should have been the big bad, he’s built up as the main bad guy only to be killed off super easily. Then it’s like the long lost brother that has like 10 mins of screen time is the main bad guy? Felt like there was no build up at all. Also I want a spin off prequel where Ed Harris just goes around accusing random people that they are Joey.
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P
Tom Stall has an adoring wife, sit-com worthy children, and a modestly successful small business in a picturesque Midwest town. Many would think this is “The American Dream” but they would be wrong. The American Dream is expertly and perfectly defending said small business from a pair of sadists while being armed with nothing but a coffee pot. Using lethal force to defend your capital, your family, your performed “way of life”.
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T
Lil jit such a bitch bro Can’t believe I used to be against domestic violence, some members of the household deserve a fade smh Aragorn lowk Goku MUI frfr, Had funny and sexy so what more to desire W bush 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏
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K
Not even a smidge of body horror?? Just for me???
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M
The last 45 minutes or so are awesome and make up for a lackluster first half. William Hurt is incredible. I love the depiction of violence in this movie — stark and jarring, and it felt very real. Viggo Mortensen did a decent enough acting job, though at times he was a bit awkward. The acting and dialogue overall felt awkward and jilted, and the plot was very predictable. I think this movie is supposed to be more of an…
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F
The opening twenty minutes are very still and uneventful, to the point where I was wondering how the film was going to circle and connect back to what it establishes in its opening scene. It takes a while for it to find its rhythm, but once it does, I found myself much more engaged. I particularly enjoyed the way certain moments / events are mirrored or, I guess, contrasted in across the film – the parallels between the beginning and…
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D
I liked the score, but didn’t feel too much outside of that. I remember seeing it as a kid and learning you can really fuck someone up by smashing their nose upward. Kinda ironic actually.
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I
crazy fire and prob my fav cronenberg if im being honest. reads like a superhero story.
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M
A surprisingly nuanced film about violence and our relationship to it. When it wants to itt is very effective in making the audience sit with the reality, rather than the spectacle of violence. It at times unsettles and at times embraces the violence it portrays. The audience, and the characters, are left to struggle with this dichotomy. The film carries this winning sincerity into its portrayals of sex as well, which is rare. Cronenberg has a good eye for flesh.…
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M
J’espère que mon daron ne me cache pas des histoires comme ça, hein. En vrai, ça serait un peu stylé, mais non, oublions. C’est sympa, cette idée de scénario. Au début, ça paie pas de mine et puis, plus ça avance, plus la tension monte jusqu’à exploser. J’aime bien. En plus, on ressent bien ce que Cronenberg veut nous montrer : cette alternance entre douceur et violence soudaine. La mise en place de l’intrigue est un peu longue, mais ça…
- Synopsis
- An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.
- Director
- David Cronenberg
- Writer
- Josh Olson
- Studio
- New Line Cinema, BenderSpink, Media I! Filmproduktion München & Company
- Country
- Germany, USA
- Language
- English
- Year
- 2005
- Runtime
- 96 mins
- France16 May 2005
- Canada10 Sep 2005
- Greece29 Sep 2005
- Netherlands25 Oct 2005
- Sweden01 Nov 2005
- Bulgaria05 Nov 2005
- Argentina15 Nov 2005
- Mexico17 Nov 2005
- USA23 Sep 2005
- UK30 Sep 2005
- USA30 Sep 2005
- Philippines05 Oct 2005
- Canada07 Oct 2005
- Germany13 Oct 2005
- Austria14 Oct 2005
- Norway21 Oct 2005
- Greece27 Oct 2005
- Finland28 Oct 2005
- Belgium02 Nov 2005
- Netherlands10 Nov 2005
- Bulgaria11 Nov 2005
- Indonesia12 Nov 2005
- Brazil15 Nov 2005
- Argentina17 Nov 2005
- Poland18 Nov 2005
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