Films › David Cronenberg

A History of Violence (2005)

Film

DirectorDavid Cronenberg

Meta takes8

Figures

Locations

The town of Millbrook, Indiana and Tom Stall's initial persona → Genre Revisionism

Form & technique

The first diner scene shootout
The final, silent family dinner scene
The first sex scene on the staircase
The overall narrative of a peaceful man forced into violence → The Trojan Horse Narrative
Howard Shore's musical score → Anempathetic Sound
Carl Fogarty's disfigured face after being shot → The Grotesque Body

Tropes

The transformation from Tom Stall to Joey Cusack → The Return of the Repressed
The film's streamlined plot compared to the graphic novel → Fidelity Criticism
Jack Stall's use of violence against bullies and later his father → The Oedipal Complex
TV news reports lionizing Tom as a hero → The Hyperreal Mirage
The killing of Richie Cusack

Films most connected to A History of Violence

Full Metal Jacket (1987) — via Anempathetic Sound, Fidelity Criticism, Genre Revisionism
Hook (1991) — via The Oedipal Complex, The Trojan Horse Narrative
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) — via The Return of the Repressed, Genre Revisionism
Twelve Monkeys (1995) — via The Hyperreal Mirage, The Oedipal Complex
Fight Club (1999) — via The Hyperreal Mirage, The Grotesque Body
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) — via The Hyperreal Mirage, The Grotesque Body
Maps to the Stars (2014) — via The Hyperreal Mirage, The Return of the Repressed
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019) — via The Hyperreal Mirage, Anempathetic Sound