Movie Review: A History Of Violence

It is not often that one encounters a movie that is better than the book from which it was adapted. This is one of those notable cases. Viggo Mortensen and David Cronenberg the actor-director duo who would go on to make the classic, Eastern promises join hands to create this great film.

It was a couple of years ago, that I reviewed the graphic novel that bears the same name,and was  written by John Wagner and drawn by Vince Locke. I was not a big fan of it then. The movie however, diverges from the book (luckily) thus making itself more gripping and a little more plausible. Ed Harris and William Hurt in supporting roles, further enhance the quality of the flick.

Tom Stall is a small town restaurant owner, unassuming and publicity shy. He is a family man, not the person one would assume, to be violent. One day, two cons arrive in his restaurant, threatening his life and those of his staff. Reasoning with them, obviously is no answer.

Tom kills the pair, and this act would place him exactly where he did not want to be- in the public spotlight. It draws attention from the wrong quarters. Criminals high up in the mob food -chain first show up at his restaurant and then begin  to harass his family. They claim Tom is not who he says he is, and that he had a violent past. How else could a mere small-towner subdue two hardened thugs?

Tom is faced with no other option, but to take to violence to make things right. I liked the way the plot unfolds in the movie, far better than in the book. If not for the direction of Cronenberg and for its stellar cast, this movie would have been yet another medicore action flick. Instead, it is riveting and worthy of a weekend watch.

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Movie Review: Eastern Promises

The king of dark plots, David Cronenberg joins forces with the talented Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts and a stellar cast to deliver a top-notch thriller, Eastern Promises. Cronenberg and Mortensen have joined forces once before, in another forgotten classic, 'A History of Violence, a film that deserves its own blog entry. 

The top stars of Eastern Promises,  Mortensen, and Watts deliver excellent performances, ably assisted by supporting actors, Vincent Cassel and Armin Mueller-Stahl. Mortensen's role fetched him an Oscar nomination for best actor.

The plot begins with two seemingly unrelated events, the death of an unknown teenager Russian girl while delivering a child and the murder of an unsuspecting customer at the hands of a barber. 

A humanitarian midwife(Watts), seeking to provide a stable home for the teenager's surviving child seeks to find a translator for the contents of the teenager's diary which may contain the mysteries surrounding the untimely death.

The midwife's efforts soon get her entwined with a  seemingly gentle Russian mob boss(Mueller-Stahl), his reckless and unstable son (Cassel) and his 

hitman-chauffer(Mortensen). 

As the plot thickens, the midwife and her family are caught in a devious plot which unfolds into a superb ending. You are forewarned that this is a very intense flick intended only for mature adults. There are a few scenes of grisly violence and a scene of sexual deviance, but all these scenes are very relevant to the dark screenplay of the movie. This is a Cronenberg classic and is well worth watching.

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Movie: A Perfect Murder(1998)

I've always wondered why Michael Douglas does not play the anti-hero more often. The tough looks, the gruff voice, the powerful personality make him an ideal candidate for a James Bond villian.

He does play the role almost to perfection in this movie, a tribute/remake of Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder. It has already been remade a few times before.
This is the classic tale of betrayal and revenge.

An older man(Douglas) and a younger woman(Gwyneth Paltrow) are trapped in a failing marriage. They are held together only by her inheritance which both of them want.
She has an affair with a younger man( Viggo Mortensen of 'Lord of the rings' fame.)
He find out and hires a hitman to kill her. The hitman is none other than his wife's lover.
This is a thriller which has a few surprizes not in the original movie:
My favorite line in the movie: Douglas to Paltrow, 'That's not happiness to see me, is it?'

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