I picked this movie up second-hand because I thought the premise sounded fairly interesting. I can’t say I didn’t like it but I was a bit disappointed in the direction it took.
I thought it could have been an interesting examination of the effects on an ordinary everyday man of being caught up in events beyond his control and a look at the unexpected capabilities for violence that are inherent in most people.
If I was making the film I would have changed the initial shooting scene in the diner slightly, I would have made it so that shooting the first person was justified whereas killing the second was more ambiguous, ie: he had been disarmed and was no immediate threat.
Someone more talented than myself could make a movie about the guilt the main character suffers when everyone else is calling him a hero, and the reactions of the other people in the diner who know what he did, he did save their lives, do they owe it to him to hide his questionable actions?
I loved that movie as it was, and would not change that aspect of it. I enjoyed seeing how the new life he created allowed him to be a quiet, nice guy. It raised the question of which of his identities is the real reflection of who he is.
That all said - your script treatment is also interesting to me - how would we all act, and how far would we go.
I enjoyed the movie a lot, but found it somehow “unbalanced” in a way. That is, it almost seemed like two different (and incompatible) movies that were mashed together somehow. I never got that “full circle” feeling that most satisfying movies give you. It’s like a song that ends on the wrong note for its key.
But none of these are meant as complaints, just interpretations. Knowing Cronenberg, that was probably part of his intention all along! And the ending was certainly awesome. It would make a good double feature with “Eastern Promises.”
This. I felt the second half of “A History of Violence” was far different from the first half. They may have been on purpose, but I think the movie suffered because of it and the narrative felt jumbled. I enjoyed “Eastern Promises” far more. Armin Mueller-Stahl was a much more believable antagonist compared to William Hurt’s cartoonishness (Oscar nominations notwithstanding).
I guess I’m alone in the fact that I hated this movie. I will admit to being biased against Maria Bello, but I tried to give it a shot. I thought it was boring, contrived, and slow. I’ve never seen exactly what the critics saw in it.
Lest I be accused of threadshitting, Girl Wonder ordered it a few months back off of Netflix. I gave it another shot, and still didn’t like it. I wish that I could see what others see in this film.
It was an interesting indie flic. Not worthy of the critical hype it got because of the director? True. It got way too action hero-ey at the end? Admitted.
However, there was good acting, an interesting attempt at realistic representation of violence and was fairly entertaining. Can’t hate it.
It could have been, but then it would have been a completely different movie. As it was, it was a film about an *extraordinary *man who had been pretending to be ordinary for years, until a chance occurance had brought back the incredible, atypical capacity for violence he always had but had managed to suppress. In other words, the exact opposite of what you said.
I know it would have been a different movie, that’s kind of my point.
As I said I didn’t dislike the movie, just that it wasn’t what I expected and I thought an examination of the effects of violence committed by and to an ordinary man could also have been an interesting avenue to explore.
it’s worth watching at least a few episodes to see whether it might appeal to you - definitely on this wavelength of an ordinary guy haplessly drawn into illegal things, the show tracking his reactions and the changes in him all the while.
They’ve just been showing the 3rd season over here. Had barely heard of it, gave it a try. The first two episodes are kind of slow, after that I was addicted to the show like it was Blue Meth’.
I agree with the OP’s assessment. I also felt like it was two movies. One with a reluctant hero and one with a cold-blooded assassin taking care of business.
I’ve seen the second movie a bazillion times. I haven’t seen the first one very often and would have liked to have seen more.
