Sep 23, 2005 5:07 pm US/Central
A History Of Violence
Richard Roeper: "See It"
(CBS)
The "Lord of the Rings" movies made Viggo Mortensen an international superstar, but he's playing a very different kind of action hero in "A History of Violence."
In fact, he may not be a hero at all.
Filmed in Canada but set in a sleepy town in downstate Indiana, "A History of Violence" stars Viggo Mortensen as Tom Stahl, a family man who loves his wife and kids and works hard at the diner he owns and operates.
He's living a quiet version of the American dream, but it all explodes when two murderous thugs walk into the restaurant.
If Ed Harris has ever given a bad performance I haven't seen it, and he could give some supporting actor Oscar consideration for his role as a mobster who's convinced that Tom isn't really Tom.
This is why Mortensen was the perfect casting choice for the part. He has a dangerous edge. We believe him as a small town, regular guy, but we also believe it's possible that Tom really could have been a psychopathic mob killer in his youth.
And Maria Bello is outstanding as his wife, who is torn between the life she has known and loved for nearly 20 years and the very real possibility that it was all a lie.
Rate R for gruesome bloodshed, "A History of Violence" plays like a classic western updated for modern times. It's one of the most provocative and intense movies of the year. See it.
(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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