A History of Violence

Humans are unique among all the species on the planet in that they alone can conceive of a world without violence. And yet, lurking deep in the primitive jelly of our lizard brains, the capacity and predisposition for violence smolders. Is it possible for us to actualize a violence-free society when violence has such an innate attraction for humanity?

A History of Violence explores this question through a lean, precise, character-driven drama, featuring superb performances and nary a wasted moment on screen. The great Canadian director David Cronenberg also rewrote Josh Olson’s script, so the result on screen is classically Cronenbergian, though at first glance the film may seem an incongruous part of his cinematic oeuvre.

The film begins by riffing on a Rockwellian dream of an American small town that probably never was. Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) owns an apple-pie diner in the middle of town, loves his wife and kids, and has a loving wife (Edie, played by Maria Bello) that arranges a sexual liaison that involves roleplaying and a cheerleader costume (“Holy cow!” says Tom. Indeed.). Everything changes when two brutal psychopaths enter Stall’s Diner with the obvious intent of robbing the till and killing everyone inside. Tom lashes out and messily kills the thugs, with the result that he is proclaimed a hero, is splashed all over the media, and attracts to town Carl Fogerty (Ed Harris), a mobster from Philadelphia who is convinced that Tom is actually Joey Cusack, a sadistic crime kingpin.

The film hinges on how violent acts both attract and repel and how they change us and how we relate to others. One character’s brutal takedown of an ignorant bully implicates the audience in a direct way. It’s hard not to cheer at the revenge of an underdog, yet at the same time the beating he dishes out lends an uneasiness. And A History of Violence features two sex scenes that, while fairly explicit for the mainstream, actually are key to the plot, the latter of the two scenes a dark mirror of the first that reveals a hidden stratum to one character’s sexuality.

Cronenberg’s sure directorial hand is evident throughout A History of Violence--in the unconventional camera angles in the fight scenes; in the gory wetness of the makeup that shows the after effects of violence; and in the subtle idea of violence as a virus that, once unleashed, infects others. Cronenberg has also gradually revealed himself to be a superb director of actors—he coaxes excellent performances from his cast, performances that were shamefully overlooked by the Academy Awards, incidentally.

A deceptively simple film, even the title has several tiers—the main character who may have a violent past; America’s history of violence; and the violent record of the human race. There are buried layers to A History of Violence that slowly reveal themselves on subsequent viewings and that, I submit, is the mark of a great film.

Though its visual style works to best effect on a theatre screen, A History of Violence is now available on DVD in a clear and vibrant widescreen transfer. The disc includes an essential making-of documentary called Acts of Violence that actually enhances understanding of the film.

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Directed by David Cronenberg
Written by Josh Olson, based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke

Starring:
Viggo Mortensen....Tom Stall
Maria Bello....Edie Stall
Ed Harris....Carl Fogarty
William Hurt....Richie Cusack
Ashton Holmes....Jack Stall

V for Vendetta -- The Politics of Fear and Terror

The dystopian science fiction movie V for Vendetta just may become one of those touchstone films that defines a moment in time. Some of the key sociopolitical tremors of today are here: fear as a method of political control; media centralization and its effects on the contraction of thought; the thinly-shaded line between ‘freedom fighter’ and ‘terrorist’ and the government’s use of the latter label to promote its own agenda; the staging of atrocities by a government on its own citizens to seize power; the narrowing of debate and suppression of opposing ideas; and the stifling of art, literature, and music as a method of thought control.

With ideas, images, and emotions blended and compressed into an incendiary mix, V for Vendetta is an explosive and thought-provoking film of political thought and personal awakening. Set in an imaginary future totalitarian Britain, the film’s story involves Evey (Natalie Portman, in one of her best roles) being saved from rape at the hands of the state police by masked revolutionary/anarchist V (Hugo Weaving). V wears the mask and costume of Guy Fawkes, one of the Roman Catholic conspirators who attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament on the fifth of November in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. His life is dedicated to bringing down Britain’s fascist tyranny, and Evey is swept up in his crusade, as is police inspector Finch (Stephen Rea), who doggedly tracks down the ‘terrorist’ V and his ‘accomplice’ Evey.

In terms of structure, V for Vendetta is essentially a three-character story--V, Evey, and Finch--with the latter two characters undergoing profound transformations over the course of the film. To a certain extent V begins and ends the film an enigma, though we do discover something of his history and motivation, which drives the narrative in the midsection of the story. Though somewhat odd at first, V’s mask comes to almost look like it’s emoting by the last third of the film. Weaving, best known for his work in two fantastic trilogies--Matrix and Lord of the Rings--does an admirable job of breathing life into the mysterious character. V himself is morally ambiguous, his acts neither applauded nor condemned, and you are left to consider how people, organizations, and governments rationalize acts of violence in the name of some higher goal.

Though it’s a very political thriller, V for Vendetta is filled with humanistic touches that portray the personal costs of fascism, institutionalized fear, and violence by the state. The story, which Evey uncovers, of a political prisoner who is jailed and tortured because of her sexual orientation is particularly moving (“I remember when words changed their meaning. When ‘different’ became ‘dangerous.’”). Another interesting and sympathetic character is executed because they possess banned literature.

Intelligent, provocative, and consistently engaging, V for Vendetta is an uncompromised, unsettling, searing screen capture of the zeitgeist.


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Directed by James McTeigue
Written by Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski
Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore & David Lloyd

Natalie Portman....Evey
Hugo Weaving....V/William Rookwood
Stephen Rea....Finch
Stephen Fry....Deitrich
John Hurt....Adam Sutler

The New World

A visionary take on the story of John Smith and Pocahontas, Terrence Malick’s The New World is transcendent. It transcends the need for expositionary dialogue and traditional narrative laid out in parcels carefully dictated by the cookie-cutter script assemblers who write books on how to plan out a screenplay. Luscious and textured, the film lacks an orthodox narrative engine, and drifts from one scene to the next, much like the wind over the native grasses in some shots. Therein lies its strength and frustration.

Malick, however, is an artist, and there is much to admire. The New World effortlessly drops from the panoptic to the personal/psychological and dabbles in the interior of the characters for much of the film. Deeply meditative, the film considers the importance of humanity’s connection with the natural and spiritual. The natives, “naturals”, are entwined and sustained by nature, and thrive with colour and energy. The settlers, by implication the “unnaturals”, do not, and descend into decay, disease, and madness.

Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell) is a terse brute, seen in chains in his ship’s hold at the picture’s opening, reaching for the shafts of sunlight filtering down from the deck above. Reprieved by Captain Christopher Newport (Christopher Plummer), Smith journeys upriver to meet the naturals and has a second reprieve, this time from execution by the natives, their hands stayed by Pocahontas (Q'Orianka Kilcher, her character never actually referred to as Pocahontas). Their love, never directly consummated onscreen, unfolds in some strikingly beautiful and simple scenes, understated to the point that many mainstream moviegoers may begin to contemplate walking out.

Especially in the first half, the film has an aura of mystery, discovery, and authenticity that few historical films capture. The naturals and the settlers are mutually awed by each other and the land, and the details of the native culture and the English settlement are completely believable and often fascinating. Unfortunately, the last third of the film tends to plod along, though when Pocahontas travels to England with Opechancanough (Wes Studi), there are still some lyrical, memorable moments.

Malick’s observantly placed camera, Emmanuel Lubezki’s lush cinematography, and James Horner’s euphonic music frequently mesh to infuse the screen with pure, poetic cinema. Though The New World can be plodding and frustrating, it is sometimes stunning, in a poetico-philosophical way, and for that reason is worth seeking out on a big screen.

The New World has received an extremely limited theatrical release in Canada and the U.S. (and reportedly in the U.K. too). It is released on DVD in North America May 9th. There are, apparently, two cuts of the film. The original release in the U.S. back at the tail end of 2005 was longer than the current North American running time of 135 minutes. The shorter version was edited by Terrence Malick himself and according to some reports is actually superior.

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Written and Directed by Terrence Malick

Starring
Colin Farrell....Captain John Smith
Q'Orianka Kilcher....Pocahontas
Christian Bale....John Rolfe
Christopher Plummer....Captain Christopher Newport
Wes Studi....Opechancanough