A History of Violence starts Viggo Mortenssen as Tom Stalls, owner of a small-town diner. A well-liked family man, Tom seems to be the all round Mr. Nice Guy until two dangerous criminals invade hsi world and are dispatched by him with a level of efficiency and violence that is a startling as it is swift.

Is Tom the quiet family guy he claims to be? Or is he hiding a far darker and more violent past?

I was really torn while watching this film. I’ve never been a David Cronenburg fan - I tend to find his films too gratuitously violent, and this was no exception, but there was also something compelling about the contrasts between the nice-guy-family-man and violent killer as prtrayed by Mortenssen.

Extras on the DVD include deleted scenes, a theatrical trailer and a hidden feature or two which are mostly standard fare but there is also an interesting comparison of the U.S. vs Internation versions of the film and an equally interesting video diary, “Too Commercial for Cannes”.

Verdict: A great film if you don’t mind the graphic violence.

Rating: 4/5