Essay on The Nature of Violence in Cronenberg’s Film The History of Violence

It is known that violence has always been a part of human life. Today violence in our society is really a serious social and health problem. According to the research, violent behavior of people is connected with different health problems, such as genetic disorders, brain injuries, antisocial personality disorders, alcohol and substance abuse, desensitization and other ones (Violence). There are several different forms of violence: physical violence, emotional and psychological violence, sexual violence, spiritual violence, economic violence and cultural violence. All the above mentioned forms of violence are focused on maintaining control over other individuals: family members, colleagues, intimate partners or group members (Violence).

Today one of the major problems in our society is gang violence which can be found in different parts of the world. Everyday hundreds of people in the United States become victims to the gang violence. Gang violence is described by such deeds as attacking, destroying, killing people in order to get money or to revenge death or insult. The theme of violence is represented in the film The History of Violence directed by David Paul Cronenberg, the famous Canadian screenwriter and filmmaker. It is known that David Paul Cronenberg is one of those filmmakers who prefer to make films in the body horror genre. The major goal of Cronenberg is to show violence in all its forms. This style of filmmaking investigates violence and people’s fears. In most of his films, the psychological aspect is closely connected with the physical one. My goal in this paper is to discuss the nature of violence in Cronenberg’s film The History of Violence.

DEFINITION OF THE TERM VIOLENCE

     The term violence can be defined as the intentional use of physical force of one individual in relation to another individual or a group of individuals that results in death, injury or some psychological harm. Violence is always connected with physical pain and emotional distress. Today violence can be found in all spheres of human activity, including family and personal relations, workplaces, schools, society and so on (Violence).

SOME FACTS ABOUT THE FILM THE HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005)

The History of Violence (2005) is a popular thriller film directed by David Paul Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson. It is known that this film is an adaptation of the famous graphic novel the History of Violence written by John Wagner and Vince Locke. In 2005, the film was a great success with the public. It is found that in 2006, the film The History of Violence was in Oscar nominations: The Best Supporting Actor – William Hurt and The Best Adapted Screenplay – Josh Olson (Schwarzbaum).

THE THEME OF VIOLENCE IN THE FILM THE HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005)

The theme of violence is one of the major themes in the film The History of Violence.  In order to discuss the theme of violence in the film, it is necessary to refer to the plot of the film.

THE PLOT OF THE FILM

The main character of the film is Tom Stall (the role performed by Viggo Mortensen), a restaurant owner in the small town of Millbrook located in the state of Indiana. Tom Stall is a national hero because he managed to kill two criminals who came to his diner in order to take money and kill his employees. Tom Stall deftly kills both criminals, and his actions make him a hero. This story appears in media and Tom is honored in Millbrook and across the United States. However, soon he is visited by several gangsters, one of whom is Carl Fogarty (the role performed by Ed Harris), a man with a scare on his face. Carl Fogarty claims that Tom Stall is a former gangster Joey Cusack, who many years ago committed criminal actions in Philadelphia as a gang member. Of course, Tom Stall denies all these accusations represented by Carl Fogarty. He claims that he has never been to Philadelphia and he does not know any gangsters. However, Carl Fogarty continues to stalk him, his wife and his children. These events lead to problems in Tom’s relationships with his wife Edie (the role is performed by Maria Bello), his son Jack (the role is performed by Ashton Holmes), and his young daughter Sarah (the role is performed by Heidi Hayes).

Tom’s son Jack has problems at school and he brutally assaults one of his classmates. Tom tries to have a talk with him, but Jack runs off. Fogarty catches him and uses him in his plans. With Tom’s son as a hostage, Carl Fogarty and his three men come to the Stall house in order to take Tom with them to Philadelphia. However, Tom brutally kills Fogarty’s men, while Jack kills Carl Fogarty with Tom’s shotgun defending his father.  Staying at the hospital, Tom tells the truth to his wife Edie – he admits that he is a former gangster and killer Joey Cusack who lived in Philadelphia and was the member of the gang. He says that he ran away from Philadelphia in order to escape his criminal past and start a new life in the state of Indiana.

Tom Stall receives a call from his elder brother Richie Cusack (the role performed by William Hurt), who is at the head of the gang in Philadelphia. He wants Tom to come to Philadelphia.  Tom makes decision to go to Philadelphia and meet his elder brother.  In Philadelphia, Tom learns that other gangsters whom he had offended many years ago took out their frustrations on his elder brother Richie and prevented him and his business from moving up in the criminal world. Tom does not want to quarrel with his elder brother Richie Cusack, but Richie orders his men to kill Tom. Tom successfully defends himself and kills Richie and his men. Then, he returns home where the atmosphere in the family is rather tense. However, Tom’s children, Jack and Sarah are ready to forgive their father because they love him and want to be happy with his parents.

THE MAIN CHARACTER IN THE FILMAND THE ROLE OF HIS PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION

Taking into consideration the plot of the film, it is necessary to conclude that the film the History of Violence represents several forms of violence. The events which take place in the small town of Millbrook prove that violence lives in our society, but everyone has a chance to change his life and his violent behavior in order to start a new life. Tom Stall is one of those men who could change himself and leave the world of violence, starting a new honest life in a small town of Millbrook. The young man changed his name and forgot his life in Philadelphia where he was a gang member, a killer and a robber. He said that he needed three years to change his personality and to get rid of violence. In Millbrook, the life of Tom Stall is quite and happy. He has a beautiful wife Edie who works as a lawyer, two children: Jack and Sarah who love their parents. Tom owns a diner and his business is successful because there are always a lot of clients in his small restaurant. Besides, Tom and his family live in a big comfortable house. He and his wife drive a car. It means that Tom have already achieved many goals in his honest life. He is happy to be Tom Stall, but not Joey Cusack. Tom managed to avoid violence and to be happy.

DIFFERENT FORMS OF VIOLENCE IN THE FILM

The film The History of Violence represents several different forms of violence: physical violence, emotional violence, psychological violence and sexual violence. Each of these forms of violence causes “physical pain to those who experience it directly, as well as emotional distress to those who either experience it or witness it” (Violence).

Physical violence occurs when an individual uses physical force or weapons in order to control others: assault with weapons or other objects, pushing, shoving, punching, kicking, and murder (Types of Violence and Abuse).  Physical violence as a form of violence takes the leading position in the film The History of Violence. The first scene in the film, when two criminals brutally kill a young woman and his daughter in the shop in order to take money and water, gives an opportunity to understand the main idea of the film. Violence, blood and fear are the key elements of this scene. The second scene which shows physical violence is the scene in the diner. When two men came to Tom Stall’s diner and ordered two cups of coffee in a rough tone, Tom Stall realized that they were criminals. Tom makes a decision to defend himself and his employees. He uses his physical abilities and his reaction to such people, and dashes boiling water into the face of one of the robbers and then kills both criminals. The next scene of physical violence in the film is when Carl Fogarty and his men come to the Stall house in order to take Tom to Philadelphia (the scene in the yard). In this situation, Tom’s reaction to the physical violence of gangsters is the same. He kills Fogarty’s men, but in the struggle, he receives injury of the shoulder. Tom’s son Jack helps him to kill Carl Fogarty using the father’s gun which he finds in the house. The next scene of physical violence is the scene in the house of Tom’s elder brother who invited Tom in order to kill him. Tom said to Richie, “I am here to make peace. Can I do anything to make things right?” But Richie’s answer was the following, “You can do one thing … you can die” (A History of Violence).  In the struggle, Tom kills all gangsters including his brother. Again, there is blood everywhere.

Besides, the above mentioned scenes of physical violence in the film, one can find one more scene – the scene in the college, when Jack uses physical violence in response to psychological violence of his classmate. Paying attention to the nature of physical violence in the film, it is necessary to conclude that Tom’s physical violence in relation to the gangsters and robbers is justified. Tom had the major goal – to protect his family and people around him from violent actions of the criminals.

Emotional violence causes damage to the individual’s emotions and feelings. In the film this form of violence is represented in those scenes where the criminals use such methods as threatening to take the children, stalking, threats and intimidation. One of the scenes where emotional violence is used by the criminals is when Tom’s wife Edie lost her daughter in the supermarket store and met Carl Fogarty. He began to threaten her and she was feared for her daughter and her family.

Psychological violence can occur when an individual uses psychological threats to gain control over others (Types of Violence and Abuse).  In the film The History of Violence, psychological violence is represented in the scenes when Tom’s son Jack was abused by his classmate. Jack did not want to injure that guy, but he provoked a conflict and began to humiliate Jack claiming that he could not be a hero like his father. However, Jack proved that guy and other classmates that he could defend himself against anyone.

Sexual violence occurs when an individual is forced to take part in sexual activity. This form of violence includes forced sexual intercourse and other types of sexual abuse, such as kissing and grabbing without permission (Types of Violence and Abuse). In the film The History of Violence, there is one scene of sexual violence, when Tom had a quarrel with his wife because of his past life and his lie, Edie did not want to listen to him anymore. She wanted to go upstairs, but Tom seized her, and threw her down on the stairs where they had violent sex. He wanted to prove his wife that he loved her and that he had power over her.

     THE NATURE OF VIOLENCE IN THE FILM THE HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

Although there are many forms of violence in the film The History of Violence, the most important thing is that the main character’s violence is justified. Tom Stall is really a hero because he managed to transform himself. He managed to leave his violence in Philadelphia and to start a new life in Millbrook. Although he had to use violence again, this violence was based on defense. Tom Stall wanted to protect his family and his fellow citizens form true killers. That is why he had to kill all of them. Tom’s elder brother Richie is a true killer, a man who did not want to be better. The only goal of Richie was to gain power over others. When he saw that Tom became a hero who killed two criminals and saved the lives of his employees, Richie made a decision to kill Tom. The nature if violence in the film The History of Violence gives an opportunity to understand the fact that each individual in our society who uses violence in his own purposes has a chance to change himself and his life, and to be better if he makes efforts to do it. Although Joey and Richie are two brothers who had common goals in the past, today Joey is transformed to Tom and lives honestly, but Richie remained a blood-minded killer who even wanted to kill his brother. It means that some people in our society do not want to live honestly, without using violence in their purposes.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, it is necessary to say that the film The History of Violence is one of those films which reveal the dark sides of our society and represent violence in its worst form. Tom Stall, the main character of the film is really a true hero of our times because he managed to change his violent nature and to become an honest citizen, good father, and careful and loving husband. Moreover, he helped the society to get rid of blood-minded criminals who killed many innocent people in the United States. Tom Stall’s violence is a justified violence because he protected himself, his family and other members of the society from violent actions of these criminals. The film The History of Violence gives an opportunity to understand the nature of violence in this world.