A History of Violence

I had high hopes for this movie, which is perhaps why I was so disappointed in it. The good part of it is that it makes you care about the main characters enough that you're really gutted by the way things turn out. But in a way it feels like a big cheat. Because from the moment of revelation onward, it feels like a completely different movie. There's no satisfying reversal or even a decent explanation as to why or how Tom came to be where he is at that point.

The movie does, however, have the only instance of the infamous "69" that I can ever remember seeing in a movie. So, um, yay for that, I guess.

Oh! I did like one thing about it. I thought the subplot with Tom's son was pretty great. And Ashton Holmes played it really well. Great tension between he and Viggo, and I enjoyed the stuff between him and the letter jacket jerks. That was the only part that I felt made me think as much as the film wanted me to.

The worst part, though? William Hurt as the mafia boss. Seriously, it's baaaaaaad. Like Hermione-howling-like-a-werewolf bad. Perhaps worse. My face was in a perpetual cringe the entire time he was on screen. It was like watching James Lipton try to be a gangsta. GAH! He's a talented actor, but everyone has roles they just should not be allowed to play because it's just not right.