A History of Violence (2005)

Directed by David Cronenberg. With Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt. A mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core.

A History of Violence is a 2005 American crime thriller film directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson. It is an adaptation of the 1997 graphic novel A History of Violence by John Wagner and Vince Locke. The film stars Viggo Mortensen as the owner of a small-town din

A mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core. Another master...

Tom Stall is living a happy and quiet life with his lawyer wife and their two children in the small town of Millbrook, Indiana, but one night their idyllic existence is shattered when Tom foils a vicious attempted robbery in his diner. Sensing danger, he takes action and saves his customers and friends in the self-defense killings of two-sought-after criminals. Heralded as a hero, Tom's life is changed overnight, attracting a national media circus, which forces him into the spotlight. Uncomfortable with his newfound celebrity, Tom tries to return to the normalcy of his ordinary life only to be confronted by a mysterious and threatening man who arrives in town believing Tom is the man who's wronged him in the past. As Tom and his family fight back against this case of mistaken identity and struggle to cope with their changed reality, they are forced to confront their relationships and the divisive issues which surface as a result.

David Cronenberg says his title "A History of Violence" has three levels: It refers (1) to a suspect with a long history of violence; (2) to the historical use of violence as a means of settling disputes, and (3) to the innate violence of Darwinian evolution, in which better-adapted organisms replace those less able to cope. "I am a complete Darwinian," says Cronenberg, whose new film is in many ways about the survival of the fittest -- at all costs.

Summary: Tom Stall is living a happy and quiet life with his lawyer wife and their two children in the small town of Millbrook, Indiana, until one night their idyllic existence is shattered when Tom foils a vicious attempted robbery in his diner. (New Line Cinema)

A History of Violence is a 2005 film about how when the owner of a diner becomes a public hero after foiling a robbery, he is targeted by mobsters who claim he is an old rival with a secret past.

Anyone who has seen the attention-grabbing trailer for A History of Violence, with its emphasis on images of Viggo Mortensen…

A History of Violence is a 2005 crime thriller directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson, based on a 1997 Graphic Novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke.

An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.