I have been waiting for this one. Synopsis.

Cher

I could have sworn that someone responded to this thread. Something about not really knowing just how they felt after seeing this one. Maybe there's another thread here about History. I have been a Viggo fan ever since seeing Sean Penn's The Indian Runner. He's one of those quiet actors. Talented and does a good job. He's also a pretty good poet/writer, photographer and singer, and a publisher.

Anyway, I really want to comment about this movie.

***SPOILER***

First, it's Cronenberg. The only thing I know him for is Lethal Weapon which I never really cared much for. This movie I found quite good. It's dark from the very beginning. Full of complexities ... of humanity in an organized crime sort of way.

The movie begins darkly and moves on from there. The mood is set when the 2 men walk out of the motel room 2 very mean, down-on-their-luck men and a long convertible with radiator problems. Then there's the poor maid and a sad little girl.

Cut to Millford, IN. Viggo plays Tom Stall, a seemingly simple man with a lovely attorney wife and a high school aged boy and a very young daughter. Their lives seem ideal ... almost sugary. I found myself uncomfortable with the sugariness of it all, but I held in there figuring it would play in there somewhere. This couple is REALLY in love. He even remembers the day he knew she first loved him. He saw it in her eyes. Okay, so I did roll mine during that scene. Anyway, good ol' Tom owns the local diner and is loved by all in Millford. For son Jack, however, it's quite different. High school can be such a shitty place and when you're raised in a family who doesn't do the violence thing well, you tend to get singled out just a tad. Did I mention the proverbial bully? Well, let's just say that Jack's fists end up teaching said bully the lesson his words never could or would have. But back to Tom. Things are going fine until the 2 mean men show up in Millford, broke and looking for trouble. They picked the wrong place and the wrong guy. Tom dispatches them post-haste when they start messing with his employees. Tom becomes an instant hero. Media coverage on all the stations, and that's when his troubles really begin.

It's not long before a shady character shows up in town claiming that Tom's not really Tom. Hmmmmmm. So, Tom ends up dispatching this guy (a very mean Ed Harris) and his cronies when they attack him and his. Actually son Jack takes care of one of them quite nicely with the family shotgun.

By this time, you know that Tom's not really Tom, and his life starts going down the toilet. His family falls apart, and then his brother back in Philly calls and off Tom goes to face the brother he'd left long ago. May I add that it doesn't take long to figure out that dear brother is nuttier than a fruitcake and really pissed at Tom for blowing his chances with a certain mob. So, you guessed it, he tries to have Tom garotted. Guess what - Tom's pretty damn good at this violence thing. After all, by now we understand that he DOES have a history of it. So, he takes out all these bad guys - including brother dear.

So, why did I end up liking this movie? Because Tom made a choice when he stopped being Joey and turned himself into Tom. Tom a pacifist. Tom who didn't live by violence. Tom who had the perfect life. Tom made another choice by the end of the film. He chose a family that he had no idea whether or not would be there for him when he returned. He chose them over his brother. So, what happened? He went home. Was the family there for him? They let him join the table for dinner. First, his little girl by setting his place for him, then his son by passing the roast, and lastly, his wife, who finally looked at him. Here's the kicker. Did she still love him? I'm not sure because I wasn't paying attention that closely to really check her eyes as the camera panned to Tom's eyes and faded to black.

Now, I'll have to wait for it to come out on DVD to pay attention to her eyes in the end.

***END OF SPOILER***

I really did like this film. I wasn't sure that I would after what I had read and heard about it. Some folks liked it while others didn't. I feel that it was very well done, and I love Cronenberg's direction. A nicely put together film IMO.

Cher

I've been thinking about this since writing the spoiler. The more I think about it the more I think I didn't miss anything in the end. I think I saw exactly what Cronenberg wanted me to see. It's up to me to finish it. Wow!

Cher

I saw this last night, and I have to say that I'm not that impressed. Ed Harris and William Hurt played their roles well, as always, but I didn't believe the writing of either of their characters. Likewise, Viggo Mortensen did an *ok* job at his role, but I just don't buy into the idea...

** SPOILERS **

... that a killer, who admittedly killed for a combination of money and pleasure, could not only re-locate and change identities (which is fine) but become a warm, loving, caring man who shows no side -- at all -- of that previous killer. I just don't buy it.

Plus, from the movie side, that was some of the most gratuitous violence I've ever seen, replete with gurgling deaths after gun shots to the face, etc. The sex scenes were entertaining but obviously for a bit of shock value. And, frankly, the 1980s-obligatory, "OK, starring actress, walk out of the shower, show us full frontal and walk out.... no need to enhance the scene in any other way" has become a bit passe.

The best part of the story, to me, was the son. They should have explored his line further.

Anyway, my $0.02.

Oh yes, the son was very important - as was the last scene with the eyes.

Isn't gratuitous violence what graphic novels is all about? I thought that was what makes them graphic. Anyway, I'm so glad we can discuss such things here.

Thanks for your 2 cents, Troy.

Cher

The reason they're called graphic novels is that the story is told through pictures and is a novel length narrative.

We saw this this weekend and I liked it. I'm kind of hooked on gangster movies right now, though, having just watched Godfather I and II recently, as well as Goodfellas. I really like that Viggo guy and I didn't have any trouble "buying" his story. Maybe if they had introduced him as a gangster I'd have had more trouble, but he seemed like a nice guy from the beginning. I agree the story was a bit over the top, but that is the form for graphic novels. It is a completely imaginative genre. The killing scenes were awesome. I thought John Hurt did the worst acting job of all, ftr.

I would say that I like Viggo, insomuch as he made a great Aragorn. But I'm not sure I've seen him do so much else of substance.... certainly not this film, and A Perfect Murder was really just a nice place for him to look pretty.

But, he does a GREAT job killing Orcs.

You might just like this one, Troy. Dang, I'm gonna have to get my copy out and watch it again.

Cher