A History of Violence

"Tom Stall had the perfect life...until he became a hero."

2005 1h 36m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

🍅

88%

FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.4

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 3,908🍅88%Rotten Tomatoes●82Metacritic★7.4IMDB · 271,336

DramaThrillerCrime

Synopsis

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

“Tom Stall had the perfect life...until he became a hero.”

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Cast

Viggo Mortensen
Tom Stall / Joey Cusack
Maria Bello
Edie Stall
Ed Harris
Carl Fogarty
William Hurt
Richie Cusack
Ashton Holmes
Jack Stall
Peter MacNeill
Sheriff Sam Carney
Stephen McHattie
Leland
Greg Bryk
Billy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Cronenberg
Writers: Josh Olson
Languages: English
Countries: Germany, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 21 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Cronenberg, shot by Peter Suschitzky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Howard Shore. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ronald Sanders shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello and Ed Harris carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Tom Stall had the perfect life...until he became a hero.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0399146 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Cronenberg directs. Peter Suschitzky behind the camera. Howard Shore scores. Ronald Sanders cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Germany, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 21 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.
3Directed by David Cronenberg, shot by Peter Suschitzky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Howard Shore. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Ronald Sanders shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello and Ed Harris carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Tom Stall had the perfect life...until he became a hero.".
8IMDB entry: tt0399146 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 21 themes, including "small town", "hero", "robbery", "indiana, usa".

The technical file

Cinematography: Peter Suschitzky
Original score: Howard Shore
Editing: Ronald Sanders
Production design: Carol Spier
Costume design: Denise Cronenberg
Makeup / hair: Mary-Lou Green-Benvenuti
VFX supervisor: Dennis Berardi
Sound: Orest Sushko
Stunt coordinator: John Stoneham Jr.
Runtime: 96 min · 1h 36m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $32,000,000
Box office: $61,477,797
Return: 192% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: A History of Violence (2005)
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 82/100
IMDB rating: 7.4/10 · 271,336 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars. 37 wins & 84 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

David Cronenberg

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2018-09-07
★ 7/10
Probably Cronenberg's most mundane work, but that's not even remotely a knock against A History of Violence. I hear tell that fans of the comic don't much like this big screen re-telling, but I've never read it, so I'm gonna go ahead and really enjoy it anyway. Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time.
CinemaSerf2024-03-09
★ 7/10
We start with images of two rather brutal hoodlums who have robbed and massacred the staff at a roadside motel and then sort of follow them into a town where "Tom" (Viggo Mortensen) runs the diner. They stop by one afternoon, intent on causing a bit of mayhem, only to discover that their host is a bit more capable of defending himself than they'd anticipated. Quickly "Tom" is lauded as an hero, and wife "Edie" (Maria Bello) and kids "Jack" (Ashton Holmes) and "Sarah" (Heidi Hayes) are proud to have their dad at home. What he hadn't anticipated, though, is that the publicity would attract the attention of one-eyed gangster "Fogarty" (Ed Harris) who arrives and starts calling him "Joey". Who's "Joey"? Well we quickly find out that nothing is as it seems and we gradually begin to realise that the past always has an habit of catching up with you. This is a violent film, but oddly enough I felt it rather visually tame as the pieces start to fall into place and the arrival of William Hurt signals an escalation that cleverly marries the comically menacing with the somewhat predictable conclusion. There's not a great deal of dialogue here, though not quite on the Clint Eastwood scale, and Mortensen holds it together increasingly well as we move along. It's one of the few films that I feel could have added half an hour or so, just so we get to grips a bit better with the characterisations and concomitant baggage, but as it is - it's well worth a look.
Wuchak2025-11-03
★ 7/10
When a peaceable family man is backed against a wall Shot in the late summer/early fall of 2004, this was described by director Cronenberg as “a meditation on the human body and its relationship to violence.” It comes in the tradition of “Straw Dogs,” addressing the same issues as “Billy Jack”; namely, absolute pacifism vs limited pacifism. The former never resorts to violence, even in the face of great evil, whereas the latter strives for peace, but turns to violence when justified. The New Testament supports limited pacifism not absolute pacifism, as some mistakenly think (see Luke 12:39, for instance). Yet there’s more going on as the film explores overcoming a troubled past for a new identity while tapping into the primal self if necessary. Viggo Mortensen is great here and he described it as “one of the best movies [he's] ever been in, if not the best.” Maria Bello is effective but lost what little curves she had and looks verging on anorexic. William Hurt shows up in the last act with a wink of amusement. There are similarities to “Killshot” with Mickey Rourke, Thomas Jane and Diane Lane, which came out three years later. If you like one, you’ll probably like the other. It runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot in the greater Toronto area with the town scenes done in Millbrook, which is an hour’s drive east of the city and a dozen miles inland from Lake Ontario. GRADE: B