Another masterful comic adaptation that doesn't inherently feel like the stuff of comic books, and yet David Cronenberg's adaptation of the 1997 graphic novel by John Wagner and Vincent Locke, A History of Violence, is undoubtably something of a modern classic - one that too few people have seen. The movie stars Viggo Mortensen as a seemingly "ordinary" family man whose life is sprung into chaos after the shocking events that occur during one fateful evening in small town America. Cronenberg, who has built his legacy on countless works of genius, including The Fly, Videodrome and The Dead Zone, helms A History of Violence with a quiet assertiveness that imbues the picture with a deeply unsettling tone that carries through from the very first minute to the very last. To say too much of the plot is to spoil the surprise, but just know that there are no costumed crime fighters here, nor a super power in sight; the brilliance stems from the broody drama and shocking violence.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
