There's not a lot of psychological subtlety to be found in David Cronenberg's A History of Violence. He makes the comics esthetic work in this film (it was adapted from a graphic novel), with static closeups that are a little tighter than usual, held for longer than is comfortable. The dialog is rarely challenging, though it does offer the opportunity to William Hurt (with a strange closely-trimmed beard) to do some scenery-chewing in a good extended cameo.

 posted: 11:50:14 PM