A History of Violence

One of Cronenberg’s most overpraised efforts, Violence focuses on a maybe former hit man (Viggo Mortensen) living a quiet suburban existence in Anywhere, USA, when his supposed old colleagues come a-callin’. It’s a disappointingly unsubtle piece of work, save two sex scenes between Mortensen and the fantastic Maria Bello that hint at depths the film otherwise elides. To paraphrase villain William Hurt: How did he fuck this up?!?