David Cronenberg: All 21 Films Ranked From Worst To Best

6. A History Of Violence

A History Of Violence is one of Cronenberg's most celebrated films, with its complex and mysterious structure, excellent lead performances and deeply graphic depictions of gangster film violence standing out a mile when compared with the work that had gone before. Although Eastern Promises would arguably build on many of the themes established in AHOV, this is where Cronenberg's "later" era began... And it began with a bang. It's telling that this is the first Cronenberg film to feature Viggo Mortensen, the man that would front three of the most important films of Cronenberg's later career (AHOV, Eastern Promises and A Dangerous Method). As with the other films mentioned, Mortensen is just exceptional. He understands Cronenberg like few actors before or since, and his characters balance the inbetweenness (good and evil, beautiful and ugly, human and parasite, infection and improvement) that the director so loves perfectly. AHOV is the story of a family man looking to leave what, the audience is led to believe, is a life of crime behind. The title could, effectively, be extended to be (This Man Has) A History Of Violence - the plot is about his past catching up with him. As is so often the case with this sort of narrative, he is incapable of escaping the past. What is brilliant here, however, is the way in which Cronenberg balances familial drama with hyper-violent imagery (wounds that BREATHE) without compromising on either. It is breathtaking stuff. The film would be amazing anyway, were it not for William Hurt's cameo. The Academy Award-nominated performance is one of the most incredible in cinematic history, and lifts the film to new heights.