15.4 SCREENING: A History of Violence

A History of Violence

Ke

Tom Stall is a kind and gentle small diner owner in a tiny town in Indiana. A loving husband and father of two, he gets his life turned upside down when he confronts and kills two criminals robbing his diner and threatening his employees. He immediately becomes the talk of the town, hailed by all as a real American hero. The undesired popularity and media exposure, however, brings unwanted attention from the East Coast, as a mob big shot and his henchmen soon arrive claiming Tom is actually Joey, a criminal from Philadelphia who left the mob around two decades ago and tried to secure a completely new life for himself. Tom resolutely states the newcomers are mistaken, but as their relentless hostile presence grows more difficult to ignore, the loving husband and father of two will have to face up to the darkness of his past, much to the shock of his post-criminal career family.

“You could say that the title is applied to the character having a history of violence, but also to the history of America,” Cronenberg explained at one point. “I don’t think there is any country that doesn’t have a history of violence.” His main star, however, went further. “On the press tour, we’d get into a lot of debates with the press because they would focus on it being the story of America. I’d tell them they were trying to get themselves off the hook. It’s a very human story about alienation. Yes, it’s very Americana, but the details are what make a story universal,” said Mortensen. However, it’s easy to see what made people deduce Tom’s story was connected to the country the narrative was taking place. After all, the image and power of the concept of reinvention are somehow firmly tied to the American identity.

- Sven Mikulec, "A History of Violence: David Cronenberg's Superb Study
of the Basic Impulses that Drive Humanity," Cinephilia and Beyond (Links to an external site.) 

Based on the 1997 graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke



Press Play to Begin the film....



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

6.7 Module 6 Summary

Image
 Module 6 Summary Wally is "too smart for his own good" in  Mildred Pierce RECAP In this module you have explored the crossover of melodrama and noir in the unique project of Mildred Pierce . Joan Crawford cut her melodramatic and noir chops on this film which led to others Flamingo Road , Sudden Fear , Possessed , The Damned Don't Cry and Queen Bee . Mildred Pierce (1945) Documentary segment video Link Here To Demonstrate your learning, you completed the following activities and assessments:  1. Read: "Film Noir: The Society Violence and the Bitch Goddess" by Stephen Farber and all module content.  2. Watch Mildred Pierce 3. Contribute to Mildred Pierce Discussion.  RESOURCES "How Joan Crawford Became Mildred Pierce" ( Links to an external site .) "Eve Arden and the 'Ida Factor' in Mildred Pierce" ( Links to an external site .) "Joan Crawford and her Enduing Style Influence" ( Links to an external site .) "The Futu...
Read more

16.4 SCREENING: BOUND

Image
SCREENING: BOUND En route to a seduction, Corky comes over to "fix the pipes" 1996’s tight-budgeted Bound is the directorial debut of The Wachowskis, in hindsight deeply overshadowed by the success of The Matrix trilogy and the other-worldly Cloud Atlas . But look a little closer and you’ll find that it shouldn’t be overshadowed at all, even if only for its redefining of gender politics and enticing reimagining of the neo-noir genre. At its centre is the relationship between just-out-of-jail Corky (Gina Gershon), and Violet (Jennifer Tilly), a character who primarily appears to be the walking embodiment of the femme fatale archetype. Violet’s relationship with the sleazily violent mafia member gives them the in they need to get the chance to rob a group of men of $2 million, with Corky’s previous for stealing coming together to hatch the perfect plan. The plot itself is fairly simple, but there’s enough elements that could go wrong for it to remain gripping. What a linear p...
Read more

16.1 Key Term Review

Key Term Review Before getting into the details of our final screening and essay questions, a quick review of some key terms. GENRE (timeless) In French, “type” or “kind.” Genres typically tell stories that share settings, conflicts, character types, and iconographies. Iconography includes all the visual motifs that appear in genres (so, cowboy hats and boots, spurs, “tough guys,” etc. in westerns). Westerns, gangster films, and musicals are a few examples. Embedded within genres are historical mythologies particular to a nation or culture — and thus ideologies (value systems that we learn to take for granted). FILM NOIR (1940s – 1950s is the classic period; noir and neo-noir have existed since, though) Assuming film noir is a kind of genre, we note that noir often: takes place at night in urban spaces (and usually in the western part of the U.S.); is shadowy and involves crime; is cynical and fatalistic (heroes are flawed and doomed and often suffer or die by end); is sexual; featur...
Read more