Review of History of Violence

I figure that I can also use this site as a place to post my opinions on movies that I have seen recently, for those of you that are interested. Thus I will be posting my reviews of films and feel free to write in with your own comments.

History of Violence: A-

I have to say that I enjoyed this movie. David Cronenberg does an excellent job of portraying the reality of the situations he presents, absurd as they may be in theory. As the title suggests, this is a violent movie, though not in the Tarantino sense of the word violence. Cronenberg's version is much more empassioned and rapid and certainly not as stylized. He spends thirty minutes building up to the action and then two minutes showing it. I felt that this tactic worked very well in the framework of the film and is a welcomed deviation from Hollywood action movies. The result of this way of portraying violence is an emphasis on character development, which in my opion is the driving factor in this film. The other interesting choice that Cronenburg makes is to include two of the most brilliant sex scenes I have ever seen in a film. They are both realistic and hauntingly erotic. Though the film seems to move slowly at points, the pay off is worth the wait and well earned. The only things I didn't like about the film were the child actors, everything else was well done. This is a must see for indie film buffs, but not for the weak of heart... sorry Mom, not your kind of film.