Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

       View All       Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

      A History of Violence

      R Released Sep 30, 2005 1 hr. 36 min. Drama Mystery & Thriller TRAILER for A History of Violence: Trailer 1 List
      88% 217 Reviews Tomatometer 76% 250,000+ Ratings Audience Score When a pair of petty criminals attempt to rob his small-town diner, Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) quickly and easily kills them both. In the flush of news coverage of Tom's seemingly heroic actions, a threatening stranger named Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) comes to town, fingering the unassuming family man as long-missing Philadelphia mobster Joey Cusack. To the horror of his wife, Edie (Maria Bello), and teenage son, Jack (Ashton Holmes), Tom finds he must confront his violent past. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Feb 05 Buy Now

      Where to Watch

      A History of Violence

      Fandango at Home Prime Video Apple TV

      Rent A History of Violence on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

      A History of Violence

      What to Know

      Critics Consensus

      A History of Violence raises compelling and thoughtful questions about the nature of violence, while representing a return to form for director David Cronenberg in one of his more uncharacteristic pieces.

      Read Critics Reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (1000+) audience reviews
      Howard H Thought provoking although predictable. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/15/24 Full Review Varun Raw, very brutal action movie, the protagonist has no backstory to establish but still is very much effective the way story carried on. Some questionable intimate scenes other than that was overall good action drama with lots of intensity! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/11/24 Full Review Alec C Are we inherently violent or is it something that we choose to be? Tom Stall is a seemingly unknowing coffee shop owner, until a stick--up unleashes dark impulses that spurs ghosts from the past to hunt him and his family down. This film takes lengths to ensure that the violence feels completely unexpected, making it much more shocking when it actually happens! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/03/24 Full Review Anderson O Among one of the Great performances by Viggo, a History of Violence tells a tale of attempting to remove your past and guiding a new life, and the consequences of the past life coming back to haunt you when making deals with those whom strings are attached. Carl Forgarty is one of the great psychological mob villians in comicbook adaptation history. And William hurt's character has a great performance as well. Star studded casting in the amazement of David's directing style. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/28/23 Full Review Jake M Excellent movie! On the surface it seems predictable, yet delivers many surprises in how events unfold. It's predictably unpredictable, if you will. Very well written and acted, thought provoking examination of the duality of human beings- how good people can remain good while being capable of extreme violence under the right circumstances. Also a great redemption story about a bad guy turned good. Highly recommended! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/10/23 Full Review Erika S Great movie. Great pacing. Great performances. Maria Bello grand slams it. Ed Harris and William Hurt are phenomenal. Viggo Mortensen does an excellent job in the lead role. There are a couple of plot holes and a very ambiguous ending. Also there is some, um, violence? But I consider this the best David Cronenberg film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/07/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

      Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

      More Like This

      View All Best Movies to Stream at Home
      80% 86% Brick 83% 82% The Constant Gardener 50% 10% Scenes of the Crime 21% 58% Derailed 85% 68% Spider Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

      Movie News & Guides

      View All Movie News & Guides

      This movie is featured in the following articles.

      25 Best Action Movies: The Highest-Rated of Each Year Since 1998 Gremlins, Tropic Thunder, Boogie Nights, and More Certified Fresh Films and TV on Netflix and Amazon Prime This Week Comic Book Movies You Can Watch Online

      Videos

      View All videos

      A History of Violence

      A History of Violence: Trailer 1 A History of Violence: Trailer 1 2:31 View more videos

      Photos

      View All A History of Violence photos

      A History of Violence

      View more photos

      Critics Reviews

      View All (217) Critics Reviews
      Christy Lemire Associated Press The less you know about this movie before seeing it -- and you really should see it -- the better. Apr 15, 2013 Full Review David Denby New Yorker Cronenberg's direction, mirroring the split in Tom, is alternately measured and frighteningly explosive, and, as always, he gives the movie a nasty underlay of sexual perversity. Apr 15, 2013 Full Review Joe Morgenstern Wall Street Journal This peculiarly predictable picture has been calculated, or miscalculated, to set up certain expectations, fulfill them, and then do the same thing again, thereby giving us a chance to see what's coming and, at least in theory, be shocked. Apr 15, 2013 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy In much the same manner that David Lynch deconstructed the myth of the squeaky-clean small Southern town in Blue Velvet, so too does David Cronenberg take a hatchet to the facade of bland Midwestern homeliness in A History of Violence. Rated: 3.5/4 Dec 26, 2023 Full Review Graeme Tuckett Stuff.co.nz A History of Violence is one of the key films of the first decade of the 21st century. Jun 7, 2023 Full Review Noah Berlatsky Everything is Horrible (Substack) There's something really distasteful about a film that claims to be thinking about the real dangers and costs of violence, and then defaults to the usual lazy dodges to make the audience cheer as their stand-in pushes some guy's nose into his brain. Jan 27, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis When a pair of petty criminals attempt to rob his small-town diner, Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) quickly and easily kills them both. In the flush of news coverage of Tom's seemingly heroic actions, a threatening stranger named Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) comes to town, fingering the unassuming family man as long-missing Philadelphia mobster Joey Cusack. To the horror of his wife, Edie (Maria Bello), and teenage son, Jack (Ashton Holmes), Tom finds he must confront his violent past.
      Director
      David Cronenberg
      Executive Producer
      Roger Kass, Josh Braun
      Screenwriter
      Josh Olson
      Distributor
      New Line Cinema
      Production Co
      Benderspink
      Rating
      R (Language|Graphic Sexuality|Nudity|Some Drug Use|Strong Brutal Violence)
      Genre
      Drama, Mystery & Thriller
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Sep 30, 2005, Wide
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Apr 29, 2010
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $31.5M
      Sound Mix
      Surround
      Aspect Ratio
      Flat (1.85:1)
      Most Popular at Home Now