David Cronenberg is a master of films of the Shocking & Disturbing genre. It isn’t that he chooses to shock or disturb in the same manner in all his films. While some are of the titillating and excitative variety, others have more substance as they tend to play on with our insecurity, vulnerability or weaknness. A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE is the rarest of rare Cronenberg film that is intriguing to the core, even though he manipulates with the audience’s appetite for gore and violence. He loves to shock and in this film he does shock with aplomb. However, he manages to touch a raw nerve in exposing the inherent violence that’s nothing but a slice of Americana, and the violence has its skewness, the devilish voyeuristic lure, and the accompanying ramifications as well. It tells the story of Tom Stall and his family (sexy wife, teenage son and cute daughter) who live in a typical, fictional town in Indiana, living a normal middle-class life, whose life takes a ninety degree turn after a showdown with a pair of out-of-town hoodlums. The plot isn’t extraordinary, as the suspense unfolds to the seasoned viewer soon after the first reel. But the treatment is too good. The viewer who’s on the lookout for some solid action, as thrilling as that found in the classic Westerns of the yesteryears, won’t be disappointed. But the discerning viewer who wants more than a fair share of violent scenes would also be rewarded with a taut screenplay that explores the underbelly of contemporary suburbia. The cast includes Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, Ashton Holmes and, in a small but important role, William Hurt. The film is incidentally based on a graphic novel (something that is yet to really blossom in our country) by John Wagner and Vince Locke. The screenplay has been written by Josh Olson. The haunting and moody original musical score has been orchestrated and conducted by Howard Shore. Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello are superb in their portrayal of the distraught couple and they were justifiably showered praises on, in Hollywood as well as Cannes. One shouldn’t give the film a miss, if for nothing else but the stellar performances. It is a pity that the film didn’t have a successful run in our country (maybe because the violent sex scene was chopped off) and it didn’t even release in my city (Kolkata) but the DVD/VCD will give the unfortunate ones a chance to catch it in their homes.