A History of Bad Writing

Have you ever been to a restaurant where the service was good but the food was terrible? That's what watching the movie "A History of Violence" was like for me.

This movie is the story of Tom Stall, the owner of a small town diner, whose life takes an unexpected turn. Tom is busy serving pie and coffee when two small time robbers decide to not only rob his diner but also kill a few innocent people for fun. Like a superhero, Tom suddenly becomes a killing machine and takes out the two robbers in five seconds or less. So, it's obvious from the beginning that Tom has been hiding a past that must have included twenty years of martial arts training and ten years as a hitman. This revelation obviously surprises his wife, family, and neighbors. Tom becomes famous, which attracts the attention of more bad guys.

So, why is this movie like a restaurant with good service but bad food? Director David Cronenberg put together a slick, seamless movie. The acting by everyone was right on. But the plot and the script of this movie is so bad that you will have indigestion for weeks.

Viggo Mortenson has become one of my favorite actors: he had roles in "Lord of the Rings" and "Hidalgo." Mortenson is great as Tom Stall: he is able to project a quiet menace that most actors can't pull off convincingly.

Ed Harris is absolutely great as one of the bad guys. Harris has such great range as an actor. I've enjoyed his performances many times.

And what a surprise, William Hurt was fantastic as the head bad guy. Hurt, who has been in a real mix of bad and good movies during his long career, had the best lines and the best scene of the whole movie. Hurt may have started a whole new career with this role.

But the plot was so bad. So, terrible. So, unbelievable. I could not believe that a ruthless killer, Tom Stall, could settle down in a small town and become a model citizen. I can believe a person can learn to be a killer but I can't believe a killer can become a model citizen: people just aren't wired that way. And the reaction from the police and neighbors is like: hey, guess what? Good old Tom, you know the guy who owns the diner, is really a killer. And it looks like rain tonight.

And without revealing anything, the movie's ending took the easy way out and again was bad, bad, bad.

This movie is rated R and isn't worth the price of a trip to the video store.