A History of Violence

[marywebgirl]

I'm not sure what I think of the movie. Is the source material a short story or something? That's what it sort of felt like to me--we weren't supposed to get a feel for the entire backstory or a sense of closure because the film was basically a snapshot of this specific event. In that sense it was pretty good.

But WOW not one for the kiddies. Very graphic sex, include the above-mentioned disturbing sex scene, and insane violence, too.

[HarpofLorien]

marywebgirl said:

I'm not sure what I think of the movie. Is the source material a short story or something? That's what it sort of felt like to me--we weren't supposed to get a feel for the entire backstory or a sense of closure because the film was basically a snapshot of this specific event. In that sense it was pretty good.

But WOW not one for the kiddies. Very graphic sex, include the above-mentioned disturbing sex scene, and insane violence, too.

The source is a graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke, which to me explains a lot. If you're interested, check out Amazon.com's customer reviews on this - apparently it's very graphic in its violence.

And you're right - it's not for kids - it's rated R for a good reason!

[defaultusername]

orchidthief said:

No, it's pertaining to Viggo's character, who has a history of violence.

Ooohhhhh, I see. Thank you, orchidthief.

[Deleted]

What I liked about the ending....... *highlight*

You could decide for yourself and end it how you wanted to end it. They make reference, after the 1st sex scene, that he knew she was in love with him because he could see it in her eyes. He still could. The last thing we see in the movie is her looking at him, and then the look on his face. You can't tell if it's a look of "Yes, I can still see it in her eyes" or "It's gone."

That's what I thought was so cool.

[Mlle]

saw it today
meh
not so much
weak I thought
(I am suprised by all he good reviews)

[Mutagen]

I thought the dialogue was stooopid, the sex scene on the stairs was pretty hot (offensiveness aside) and hey! It's that tormented gay kid from SVU!

[tamaradixon]

A bit over rated.

William Hurt, when did you stop being a great actor and become a joke? He was pathetic.

Viggo, you and your cute ass rock. Great sex scenes.

The story. Meh. Worth a rental.

[hyde]

I went to this movie without reading any reviews. After I saw it I thought that I probably should've read the reviews, maybe I could've avoided watching this horrible movie. Then I read the reviews and was shocked to find that this movie is getting very good reviews. I think I'm in a bizzarro world. I'm questioning my life now.

[JeanBean]

I was sorely disappointed. The plot was entirely uncompelling after the questions were answered about Viggo's character. William Hurt was really wasted here, though I appreciated the humor of those scenes (what's up with the way he talks?).

I'm all for nudity, but not pointless, gratuitous female-only nudity, like when Maria Bello came out of the bathroom in the robe.

Booo on this film.

[Deleted]

I saw this last night and count me as another underwhelmed. The first 15 mins had me rolling my eyes - I thought the acting was pretty ropey for a while there. That blonde kid ain't no new Dakota Fanning, and the "I had a bad dream about a monster!" scene where the WHOLE family comes in to comfort her a la The Cosbys had me almost leave the theatre in protest.

Also, I found the first sex scene rather hilarious, considering they were meant to have been married for what? 18 years? I turned to my fiance and whispered "If you think I'll be dressing up as a cheerleader for you 18 years down the road you got another thing coming, buddy!" I just thought the way they looked at each other as if they'd been together about three months BURNING with LUST stretched credulity way too far. That sort of thing really annoys me - it's so Lifetime.

Whilst it definately warmed up and got a bit better, I was most impressed with the Violence scenes, actually. They were so quick and brutal. It was pretty impressive what Joey could do when cornered. Superb killing! And I thought Maria Bello was a standout. Some of her acting moments were really genuine. Viggo was OK, though patchier - I really only got a feeling of seeing inside him in the last 5 or 10 minutes, but then it was very effective.

I liked the teenage son a lot - that kid has a future. But yeah, the utterly gratuitous bush shot was ludicrous.