David Cronenberg works best when his psychological and macabre sense of blood curdling chills is done while involving the real world. Films like 'Scanners', 'The Fly', and 'eXistenZ' will always have a special place with me but when Cronenberg's "mad scientist" vision invades his camera lens in a more realistic sense such as in 'The Dead Zone' or 'Dead Ringers', we are left imagining what the possibilities of human nature are from a more constructive point of view. This film, about a man's mysterious past with gangsters and how it comes back to haunt him and his family is made all the more compelling by performances from Ed Harris, Maria Bello and the long forgotten William Hurt in a comeback role that has him in one of the most unique supporting performances of the year. Viggo Mortensen proves he can act quite well away from the land of 'Lord of the Rings' and turns in great work here. This may be David Cronenberg's best film ever.
Review of A History of Violence
