This film definitely looks different than a lot of what we've seen thus far (The Godfather, Ride with the Devil, Dead Presidents, and Traffic) in class. So, there are several questions we have to deal with, including the two below.
We ask that you respond to these questions with the same level of thoughtfulness and thoroughness that you have during the past week. Here goes:
1) How does this film connect to the other films that we've seen these past few weeks? Themes/Issues? Characters? Community? Critical stance on "America"?
2) Moreover, we've seen some fairly graphic sex scenes, both of which are very different. First, the film shows the characters involved enacting a sexual fantasy they have. Later, the film depicts a scene that seems very disturbing because it looks like a form of rape. The film asks us as viewers to engage -- arguably quite uncomfortably -- with these characters in these moments and their actions.
So, what do we make of this? Why does the film feature these two scenes and what does it say about the film?
Looking forward to reading these thoughtful and thorough responses.
A History of Violence addresses some of the topics also addressed in the other films we have watched, but from a different perspective. We see very strong community ties in the Stalls' Indiana hometown. Everybody seems to know one another by name, and they say "see you in church" as they say goodbye. The film presents a sturdy, hard-working, Christian (note both Edie and Tom's cross necklaces) quintessentially American town. They are good people and they care about the wellbeing of their neighbors and their community as a whole. The Corleone family and Bushwhackers show similar community values: they have meaningful personal relationships and are willing to sacrifice for one another. However, A History of Violence does not seem to put us in exactly the same position as do The Godfather and Ride with the Devil. The Corleones and the Bushwhackers turn to violence to protect their beloved communities while Tom Stall renounces violence to protect his community. Yet Tom (Joey?) gets a little immoral himself. He lies to his wife, children, and community. Like the Corleones, Bushwhackers, and Helen from Traffic, Tom Stall is willing to sacrifice some level of morality for the safety and peace of mind of his community. In this way, A History of Violence invites us to examine the morality of its main character in the same way we dissected the morality of Michael Corleone, Jake Roedel, Helena, and Curtis.
ReplyDeleteThe film is brutally honest about the sex lives of Edie and Tom Stall. Clearly, the filmmakers leave little to the imagination. While somewhat uncomfortable, the first sex scene presents a healthy, monogamous relationship. We see a man and woman madly in love who are trying to spice up their sex life. The film seems to be presenting a couple whose biggest problem is perhaps some dullness in the bedroom. They love each other and their kids and they trust each other entirely. It is obvious that Edie is head over heels for her husband -- she gives a slight smile after kissing him goodbye in the morning that screams unconditional love. These feelings are, of course, confused when the Stalls discover the existence of good ol' Tom's alter-ego, Joey. The sadomasochist sex scene on the staircase appears to illustrate the confusion Edie is feeling. She is overcome with anger at Joey but is still infatuated with Tom, the father of their children and small town hero. Both Edie and Tom/Joey are so full of conflicting emotions that they lost their minds (and their pants).
There is at least one main character in all four films that has a double-life or inwardly struggles with a clash of two different sides. In The Godfather, before Michael Corleone really becomes the new Don, he struggles between the "normal life" that he's struggled and mostly succeeded to have up until this point. He later must choose between life with Kay or life as The Godfather. In Ride With the Devil, Jake Roedel has to choose between the Union and the Confederacy. While Jake obviously chooses the Confederacy side, and doesn't seem to struggle much between choosing, he still has both sides in him. In the beginning, his father urges him to be with the Union. And with the Confederacy, he still does not get full respect from some (like Pitt who doesn't fully consider him to be a Southerner). Another case of this in Ride With the Devil is with Holt. Holt had to decide between his real family or going with George Clyde and being, essentially, free. In Dead Presidents, Anthony has two sides, but they don't ever really go head to head. Instead, Anthony's two sides are divided by before and after the Vietnam War. Before the war, Anthony is very eager and almost childish or at least not violent at all. After the war, Anthony is a whole new person. The best evidence for this is when he comes home and mercilessly beats Cowboy at Kirby's hangout. Before the war, Anthony let Cowboy hold him on the table and bully him. In Traffic, Caroline Wakefield has two sides: the perfect, straight-A, daughter of a politician side and the drug-addict, later prostitute side. It's almost unbelievable that a girl with her scholarly record could have such a dark side. The Caroline that we see in the interview room with Viola Davis, explaining how perfect she is, is the complete opposite of the girl that we see living with the drug dealer. In A History of Violence, Tom Stall obviously has two sides. He even explains the situation to Edie in that same manner. He explains that in parts of his life, when he was killing people, he was Joey, but now in this new life (I think he even says "born again") he is Tom Stall. Community ties in to all five of these movies in the same way. When all of the characters aforementioned are struggling sides, the sides are really communities. Michael has to pick between the mafia community and the "American norm" community. Jake picks the bushwhacker Confederate community over the Union and Holt picks the same community, over his family community. Anthony's communities, however, differ with him. Like how Anthony didn't have two sides directly in conflict, but two separated by the Vietnam War, his communities do the same. Anthony's pre-war community is pretty middle-class, diverse, and seems all-around happy. After the war when Anthony comes back, we see that the community that he lives in has really changed. His living space with Juanitah has cockroaches crawling on the walls, and there is a strong scent of desperation in the air. Maybe this follows Anthony, but now everything is run-down and the need for money is so loud that it drowns everything else out and pushes him to commit a felony - this sound was nowhere to be found in Anthony's pre-war community. In Traffic, Caroline goes from her perfect, suburban, upper-middle class community to the less-affluent community that houses the drugs that she gets. In A History of Violence, the two communities differ immensely. There is Millbrook, the perfect little American town where (essentially) no trouble occurs, that is then compared to the haunting mansion of Richie Cusack that we have yet to see. Still, just by comparing the bar in Philadelphia that Tom meets the man in to the little diner in Millbrook where Tom works, the communities really have no similarities.
ReplyDeleteThe "American stereotype" also plays a part in all five films. In The Godfather, Kay is the epitome "American stereotype," embodying every part from the growing up in New Hampshire to the blonde hair and blue eyes. "American" is all that Michael wants to be until his presence is needed in the family business. In Ride With the Devil, the bushwhackers are all fighting for their interpretation or what they think America should be. The Union soldiers, who we never meet on a personal level during the film, are essentially doing the same. In Traffic, Caroline goes from her perfect, suburban, upper-middle class community to the less-affluent community that houses the drugs that she gets. In A History of Violence, the two communities differ immensely. There is Millbrook, the perfect little American town where (essentially) no trouble occurs, that is then compared to the haunting mansion of Richie Cusack that we have yet to see. Still, just by comparing the bar in Philadelphia that Tom meets the man in to the little diner in Millbrook where Tom works, the communities really have no similarities. The "American stereotype" also plays a part in all five films. In The Godfather, Kay is the epitome "American stereotype," embodying every part from the growing up in New Hampshire to the blonde hair and blue eyes. "American" is all that Michael wants to be until his presence is needed in the family business. In Ride With the Devil, the bushwhackers are all fighting for their interpretation or what they think America should be. The Union soldiers, who we never meet on a personal level during the film, are essentially doing the same. In Dead Presidents, Anthony Curtis can't get to the "American life" or dream. Yes, he goes to the army fighting for his country (and you can't get more "American" than that), but when he comes home he can't live the American life. He tries working at a little town store at first, but when he is fired, he doesn't seem to have many other options than doing something very "un-American": robbing a bank car. In Traffic, the Wakefields from afar are the perfect American family. With a father as an important politician, protecting the country, and a first rate student as a daughter, everything should be perfect. But once we get a look on the inside, we see that this "American" family isn't perfect. In Traffic, the Stalls in Millbrook also appear to be the perfect American family, even down to the classic, "American" mailbox with their last name painted on the side.
DeleteThe two scenes definitely show the character development and relationship development between Edie and Tom Stall in the movie. By the first scene, we know about Edie and Tom's family and their pretty much perfect home situation. The whole family seems to love each other, and no problems appear. In the first Edie & Tom scene, we see a couple in a healthy, relatively-standard relationship. In the second scene, however, everything changes. Edie seems to really hate Tom for what he did, and at first they're fighting. Instead of seeing a healthy relationship, we see what kind of appears to be kind of rape(y) at first. This shows how their healthy relationship turned into a hateful and pretty unhealthy one. The bruises on Edie's back after look like an outcome of a beating or assault.
A History of Violence is similar to some of the other films we’ve watched in a few areas. First off, it appears that Tom Stall is just trying to protect his family. The panic that Tom shows when he thinks the mobsters are coming to his house is apparent. Whether or not Tom is really Tom Stall or Joey deep down you can tell that he really does care for his family and his actions of violence are only to protect them. Tom puts his life in risk by agreeing to go with the mobsters in return for his son. His actions are for them. Similarly, the other films we have watched show characters with strong family ties and a need to protect and support them. There is also a critique of America in the film. The Stalls are a very stereotypical heartland family and on the surface they look to be a poster child for the American dream. However, once you get below the surface of the family, they are twisted and unusual and not at all stereotypical. The film seems to show that there is no ‘ideal’ American family in the end. This is comparable to the Godfather, which challenges what “American” actually means, and Riding with the Devil, which challenges our views of “American” by presenting us with main characters who fight with the South in the Civil War. Together these movies challenge the stereotypical American ideals.
ReplyDeleteThe sex scenes in the film show the changes the characters undergo during the course of the film and the conflicted emotions they feel. The first sex scene establishes a seemingly sincere love between two characters and solidifies their bond as lovers and a family in the eyes of the viewer. There is a fantasy that the two could live their whole lives together, starting with what they missed (their teenage years). However, between the first and second sex scene it is revealed that Tom was actually a gang member in Philadelphia, and the second sex scene shows the conflicting feelings the couple feels. The second scene starts with violence clearly showing the anger and distrust between the two but as things become more sexual it seems as though Tom backs off but Edie encourages the intimacy. This could be interpreted as her conflicting emotions between loving the man she knows, in Tom, and hating the man she never met, in Joey.
I think that this does share a lot of similarities with Dead Presidents and The Godfather. In regards to choices, it is also a huge factor in A History Of Violence. Tom Stall/ Joey Cusack makes the choice to completely change his identity from a mobster in Philly to a loving, traditional family man. It shows that he is willing to change his way of life, but we don't know if that is his own complete choice, because we don't know why he left Philadelphia in the first place. I am also under the assumption that Joey's decision to go back to Philly is going to change the entire plot of the story, like the other movies. So choices are pretty prevalent in this movie as well. In regards to community, the community in that town in Indiana is very-close knit. Everybody knows each other. Almost everybody already knows Tom, and after the Diner Skirmish, EVERYBODY knows who Tom Stall is. It reminds me of Anthony's knowledge of those people on the street, a person who is close to his community. They are both willing to sacrifice for their communities, with Tom putting his life on the line to save his employees, and Anthony fighting in Vietnam to preserve the Bronx, though not directly. That's what I have seen from the film.
ReplyDeleteAbout the sex scenes:
I think there is a very good reason for those two different scenes. It's a symbol of the life that Edie believes is reality, her innocent perseption of this mobster. This is a symbol of their intimacy and their love for each other, a world in which they both know each in a special way. However, things go downhill, what with all the killings. After Tom reveals that he is indeed Joey to Edie, Edie's reality is shattered. Their relationship with each other becomes estranged, and the sex scene is almost like that of rape because it is symbolically as if they do not know each other.
p.s: About the characters, there is a sense of dual-personalities in each character. There is Michael who is the supreme don for the Corleones, and there is the loving Michael who is a nice man who has a wife and kids. There is Tom Stall, awesome family man living in a podunk town in Indiana, and there is Joey Cusack, murdering mobster from Philadelphia. Lastly, there is Anthony Curtis, Caring teenager who is obedient and shares close ties with his community, and there is Vietnam War veteran, robbery-committing Anthony Curtis, who suffers from PTSD and who cannot control his temper, as evidenced when he chokes Juanita for pestering him about getting a paying job. That's all I have to say.
A History Of Violence definitely relates to the other films we have seen so far, albeit in a more subtle way than before. One major theme it shares with other films is a running one of family and community. Although Tom Stall might have some serious problems from his past, and apparently a vicious mobster alter ego that he spent years hiding away, he clearly loves his family. Tom is also obviously a big presence in his community, and a very positive one as well. Everyone greets Tom with kindness and excitement as he goes about his day, and he seems to know everybody in the town. The community aspect of the movie is very clear as it progresses, with this small, tight knit town being a prime example of a perfect community. Tom’s killing of the two mobsters/criminals does only more to elevate his position in the community, with people now viewing him not only as a great guy, but also as a revered hero who protects his friends and family. These opening scenes are very similar to the opening scenes of Dead Presidents, with the main character greeting his community on friendly terms. The Godfather and Ride with the devil also have a clear theme of community and friendship among the Corleone Family and the bushwhacker group, respectively. Traffic has the smaller themes of community that are very present among Tom’s family, even with the parallel of a slowly deteriorating trust among the family that is shown in Helena’s story.
ReplyDeleteThe sex scenes show the different characters that Tom and Edie are between the first and second scenes. In the first scene, it’s obviously a very consensual act, with the two of them planning out their night together and behaving very tenderly toward each other. They obviously love each other very much and are definitely doing this because they want to. Later, by the time of the second sex scene, the bonds of trust and love between the husband and wife are definitely less strong than they were at the beginning. Tom’s ‘alter ego’ Joey has been revealed, and he has killed several people. Edie is unsure whether or not she can trust him now and is very paranoid about the safety of her family. This scene seems very ambiguous as to whether or not it is consensual or not, with Tom- or maybe Joey at this point- going so far as to grab Edie by the throat and try to pull her down by her legs. The sex itself is very rough and violent, as we see both by the act and by the bad bruising on Edie’s back afterwards. Edie also seems to become more accepting of the sex as the scene goes on, indicating that she definitely still loves Tom but can’t accept him as easily now that she knows and hates Joey.
1. I think this film connects on the basis we discussed in many ways. The themes and issues include family and the option of turning to crime, however in this instance, we don't know the motive for the previous life that "Tom" lives. Community is a large part of who Tom is and the persona he has created. Everyone looks out for one another and everyone knows each other for the most part, which has been a recurring theme in the previous films. I'm not quite sure what the critical stance on "America" is in this particular film.
ReplyDelete2. I think the film shows these two scenes in order to show the shift in the relationship between Tom and Edie. The fantasy shows how much they love each other while the rape esque scene shows how much their relationship is suffering from the discovery of Tom's true identity. I think the film is trying to show that relationships aren't perfect and that secrets can truly hurt the ones you love.
The main way that A History of Violence connects with the other films that we’ve seen is that it involves organized crime. The theme of family is extremely prevalent in A History of Violence. We see at the beginning of the film how loving and affectionate the Stalls are with one another. Tom Stall is referred to as a “family man.” The Stall family, like the Corleone family, is very loyal to one another. This is shown when Edie lies to Sherriff Sam to protect her husband, even though he has just learned that her husband is a murderer. Also, Jack unquestioningly kills for his father, even with the knowledge that his father is probably not what he says he is. Other films that we have watched have been critical of America: for example, Dead Presidents criticizes the government’s treatment of war vets. A History of Violence is not as openly critical of America, but still shows the audience that a typical “American” small town may not be what they think it is. For example, the law enforcement has been shown to be largely ineffective. Carl Fogarty and his men pay no heed to Sheriff Sam’s warning to get out town. Justice is only meted out through vigilante force, shown by Jack and Tom’s gun murders. A History of Violence is saying that the American government is not powerful enough to stop large crime syndicates.
ReplyDeleteThe first sex scene is obviously graphic, but is nothing more than harmless role-play between a married couple. The first sex scene shows that Tom and Edie are a very loving married couple who enjoy spicing up their sex life occasionally. However, the second sex scene starts off as a domestic dispute and involves what would probably be considered criminal assault. It looks like Tom is about to rape Edie, but then Edie passionately kisses him. The sex is much rougher than before, and in an unusual place – a staircase. This shows that Edie is very confused about herself: she wants to love her husband, but knows he is a murderer. This confliction explains why she originally resists Tom but then gives in. Both characters are becoming more criminal and violent: well, Edie is, Tom is simply returning to his old ways as a mobster.
A History of Violence certainly relates and connects to the other four films we have watched in class. For one, there are very strong ties to the community and everyone knows one another. Second, similarly to The Godfather, there are many close relationships where people will sacrafice their wellbeing for others. Also similar to all of the movies there is the aspect of organized crime and killing. However, one difference from all of the other movies is that Tom Stall is living a lie. He went through a period in his life where he changed his whole person and went from being Joey to Tom. Joey was the tough guy in Philadelphia who killed people and Tom is the "All-American" family man who owns a diner in small town USA and comes home every night to his family. Despite Tom's past as Joey, it clear to the viewer that he really does care and what to protect his family even though the only way he knows how to do that is to resort back to being Joey.
ReplyDeleteThe difference in the sex scenes show the changes that the characters undergo throughout the movie. In the first scene, Edie Stall is acting out her fantasy of the two of them in high school and she is wearing a cheerleading outfit. It is a very intimate scene and you can tell the love that they have for each other. In fact, Edie Stall even says to Tom Stall how much she loves him. However, the second scene is drastically different and very surprising to the audience. The Stalls are fighting and hitting each other and then all of a sudden they start having sex on the stairs. Both of the characters by this point in the movie have lost control of their lives and it shows in this scene. It seems as though they have lost their love for each other and all that is left is the physical attraction. Edie obviously cares that her husband is living a double life because what wife wouldn't care about that so the second sex scene is very hard to grasp and explain.
Well, right off the bat, you can connect A History of Violence to all four movies we watched because they all have some form of organized crime: mafia, war, heist, cartel, and gang. All five of these movies serve to show a unique point of view on organized crime, focusing on the individual and how the crime affects them. The viewer feels sympathy for Tom/Joey in the same way he or she feels it for Michael, the Bushwhackers, Anthony, and Elena despite their immoral decisions and actions. Because we get to know these and other characters on an intimate level, we see how human they truly are, knowing their struggles, desires, needs, etc. These four movies emphasize how you can get wrapped up in what a person does, failing to separate that from who they truly are. These five films also have a strong community surrounding the main characters. I described those in The Godfather, Dead Presidents, and Traffic yesterday, but Ride and History both have communities too, and rather obvious ones at that. Ride has communities of North and South, separate states, and the Bushwhackers. Family also emerges as a community in the end. History heavily emphasizes the community of that little Indianan town the movie is set it, showing how everyone knows each other, “people take care of their own,” etc. Moreover, this is a community that doesn’t like to be crossed, so you wonder how hard they’ll take the Tom-Joey transition. Finally, America seems to be less important or less effective in History, which I believe is important because the movie deals with organized crime that’s, in a way, above the law because of its power. America and its laws fail to deliver for those murdered by Fogarty, showing its weakness against threats that should be dealt with.
ReplyDeleteThe 180 stances that these two sex scenes take are on account of Tom/Joey. In the first scene, its uncomfortable because it’s cheesy and because its always weird to know someone’s sexual fantasies. You don’t want to watch it because it feels like a breach of privacy into a happy, in-love married couple’s sex life. In this first sex scene, Tom is Tom, a nice family man, which reflects in the nature of the scene and his interactions with his wife in general. Then, things take a turn for the worst when Tom turns back into Joey, a trained killer with ties to Philly organized crime. Joey’s violent nature takes over, resulting in a sex scene that resembles rape. The brutal nature of Joey orchestrates how it all goes, which is definitely uncomfortable as well. But this kind of uncomfortable comes from a place that knows domestic violence, rape, etc. are all terrible things…and this scene seems a lot like them. The extreme differences in these two scenes, while not fun to watch, add to the plot of the film as well as the seriousness of Tom’s transition back to Joey. The difference between Tom and Joey’s behavior alludes to danger and violence in the rest of the movie, and invokes mystery as to why Joey became Tom in the first place.
The movie A History of Violence is very similar to all of the other movies we’ve watched so far. However, unlike the other movies, the main character, Tom Stall, tricks us as viewers in a way. He seems to be a fairly sweet, handsome, and well-dressed sort of fellow. A good community surrounds him with many loving people who all seem to be close to each other. However, once we are informed that this Tom Stall guy may or may not have another past as someone known as Joey, we get to see the cracks and see how twisted Tom Stall really is. He actually does have a past of being someone called Joey, and from this leak Tom Stall starts to morph back as the Joey guy. He lies to wife Edie, drops all of his new morals by slapping his son when his son says that he would shoot his problem away…or something along those lines. These are a few differences, but to focus more on how similar this movie is to the others that we’ve watched, this movie seems to show that family is also important. So important that Tom Stall tries his hardest to keep his past secret so that his family won’t see him as different or abandon him. This movie also shows how a family’s action or belief can influence others to do or be like the other family member. The son of Tom Stall actually shoots one of the guys that tries to shoot his dad. Of course, this makes sense, but I feel like this action would have been much different if the sun was not slapped or was aware of the fact that there were guns available in the house. I, too, think that “America” is being portrayed as something similar to the other movies, because the movie is still representing America as violent and how violence is inevitable.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the first sex scene between Tom Stall and Edie is representing more of the characters weakness and true love towards each other. Edie reminds him of how sexy High School sex was by dressing up as a cheerleader. I feel as though that this scene was showing Tom Stall’s non-violent side, until we do see it in the other sex scene. The second scene left me very much disturbed but had a lot of meaning to it. Tom Stall knew that his past was revealed and that it would change his life from that very moment. That is why he was so violent when he was almost forcing his wife to have sex with him one last time. He did not want there to be a change between them, and he felt that physically controlling her would reassure him. However, my viewpoint on the wife is a little different. She seemed to want to get away from Tom Stall. But then she either couldn’t resist him or she had sex with him to save herself from being further violated and seeing Tom Stall’s new/ old form as Joey.
What is interesting about A History of Violence is the angle that it takes on the life on one within organized crime. In The Godfather, Ride with the Devil, Dead Presidents and Traffic, we watch as one gets tangled into the life of crime. In A History of Violence, or at least what we've seen so far, we are presented with a character who has 'left' this lifestyle. We talk of choice, the choice made by Michael, Jake Roedell, Anthony, and Helena, and it seems that the most significant choice Tom/Joey has made was the choice to leave. Also, we see a harsher side of this 'organization of crime'. Instead of sympathizing, or understanding the family, guerrilla army, heist team, or corrupted housewife, we fear this Mr. Fogertey. Perhaps this is because we are seeing the mafia from the view of the victim rather than from the insiders. How would it affect us if The Godfather were about Sollozzo's struggle to find protection from mafia's in New York? It is because of this that instead of seeing the mafia or organized crime as protecting a family or a lifestyle, we see it as an obstacle. At the beginning of the movie, when we first see the Stall family, they are all comforting Sarah on her bed after a nightmare. All have awoken, worried, and rushed to comfort her. This illustration of a picturesque family is in stark contrast to one we later see of Edie upstairs with bruises and Tom/Joey on the couch- no sign of either of the kids. However, not only does this mafia endanger his family through their presence and subtle, yet very creepy threats, but also through the effect it has on the hero of the town. The presence of "Joey Cusack" creates a distrust and rift between Edie and Tom, not only when he is lying to her, but when she is lying for him to Sheriff Sam. There exists a level of hypocrisy when Tom gets upset at Jack for solving his bully problem with a fight, while he is apparently "so good at killing people." The movie raises the question which the other movies raised subtly with much more emphasis- is the hero who kills really a hero? This makes us uncomfortable because we see "Tom" kill two men in self defense, and defending the workers and customers of his diner. However, we see "Joey" kill two men much more graphically, yet also , arguably, defending his family and certainly his own life.
ReplyDeleteAnother compare-contrast situation between a "Tom" scene and a "Joey" scene are the two times we see him and Edie having sex. The first time we see them pretending to be teenagers, a seemingly shared sexual fantasy. It is interesting that this is their particular sexual fantasy, as it is basically trying to be "kids"- who are, depending on perspective, innocent. It is a bit silly at times and very uncomfortable, but only because we are watching two people, obviously very much in love, at their most intimate. However, we see later a sex scene that stems from what is domestic abuse. Watching this, we are uncomfortable because it does begin seemingly as a violent rape, something very morally wrong. However, when Edie pulls Tom back to her, we are even more uncomfortable because of these conflicting depictions of a couple in love and a raging, violent killer. As they continue, their actions seem to convey a lustful relationship instead of the dopey-love one we had seen before. It seems that Edie also experiences these uncomfortable, conflicting emotions because she, visibly upset, gets up and leaves. This uncomfortable sex scene is also the first time we see that this "Joey" person is not just responsible for giving Tom cool moves that save his life in the diner robbery scene, but also is dangerous and capable of evil deeds.
The film A History of Violence is much different from the other films we have watched, but it does show some similarities. On the simplest note, Joey/Tom has roots in the mafia and organized crime. Unlike Michael, Joey attempts to escape the clutches of organized crime and he attempts to live a “normal life.” This leads me to introduce the claims on how this film portrays a typical American family and life. Tom is a “family dad” who seems to be (except for his shaky past) a fairly honest and respectable guy. He runs a small diner and works very long hours at this business. Edie, his wife, works but seems to also be more of a caregiver than the father, although both are mild-mannered and empathetic people. Jack is a stereotypical kid. He isn’t a bully nor is he a nerd. Sarah is a small girl, who enjoys “girly” things from a young age. These four lived in a small country town where everybody knows everybody. This clearly represents what society views as an American family.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the two sex scenes appear in the film because they represent Tom/Joey. There are two obvious metaphors for the transformation Tom has from Tom back to Joey. The first metaphor is the pickup truck. At the beginning of the movie, the truck is dead, like Joey. But as Joey awakens within Tom the truck begins to spur to life. The same thing happens with his sex with Edie. At first you see Tom’s private sex life. He is a family man, and he is doing something many typical American families do. The next sex scene is different because Tom has transformed into Joey. Joey is much more violent and aggressive, which can be seen by this sex scene.
The main character, Tom Stall, relates to other main characters from the movies we’ve seen. Stall wants a life without violence, but is given no real choice but to commit acts of violence because of the circumstances. Michael Corleone would rather stay out of the family business, but he is dragged into it and ends up killing people. Helena just wants to live her country-club life, but she feels the need to kill people to get her old life back. Curtis wants to make money, and using violence is his only easy option. With regard to the critical stance on America, this movie stands alone. It portrays a happy, small town with wonderful people, something the sheriff loves to remind us of. There is real violence in that town, except for some hallway punching, and crime is far from prevalent. There is a very intimate community, another thing not seen in any of the other movies.
ReplyDeleteI think the film uses these two sex scenes to outline the character of Stall, and the difference between Joey and Tom. In the first scene, aside from the sex, Tom is shown as a very compassionate and loving guy. He whispers to his wife about all that cheesy love stuff, like how he is the luckiest guy in the world and blah blah blah. The movie sets Tom up as the quintessential small town husband–runs a nice little restaurant, has a silly side (as demonstrated by the cheerleader sex), and is very loving to his wife and daughter. The second sex scene shows Joey, the man Stall used to be. Instead of the intimate love making, there is just rough sex. Instead of foreplay involving dress-up, the foreplay is made up of slapping and throwing into walls. That is Joey–violent and ruthless. The film uses these sex scenes to show the two sides of Tom/Joey. One is the sweet family man, and the other is the violent murdering mobster.
The movie A History of Violence displays some very prominent themes, some of which relate to the other movies we have watched. One of the key themes of the movie is whether Tom Stall is actually who he claims he is. We saw a similar theme appear in The Godfather, when Kay questions Michael about his involvement in the mafia. Michael keeps Kay in the dark, telling her that he wasn't involved in a number of violent crimes. Another theme is the idea of family issues conflicting with the main character. After his son discovers his father's true identity, Tom struggles to keep a relationship with his son. Even though Tom's real identity is a murdering mobster, he claims to have moved on from his past. He claims that while he once was "crazy Joey," he's left his past life behind, and that he actually is Tom Stall. Family issues also appear in Dead Presidents and Traffic. For Anthony, his brother and mother pressure him to go to college and pursue a good career like his brother. Anthony, however, decides that he doesn't want to go to college. Instead, he wants to fight in Vietnam and become a war veteran like his father (or die honorably for his country). For Robert, he faces an even bigger challenge with his family. Robert manages to secure a very prominent position in the war on drugs. However, his own daughter is currently a struggling drug addict. He is faced with a decision between continuing his powerful career fighting the "drug war" or abandoning the position to help his daughter. The theme of community we see in the movie is very similar to the beginning of Dead Presidents. When Tom walks to his diner, he greets everyone he passes. This shows that Tom is very well acquainted with his community, which is very similar to Anthony's experience in his community. As Anthony walks down the street at the beginning of the movie, he talks with almost everyone he passes, showing that he has a very close connection with the people in his community. Finally, perhaps the biggest theme in the movie is the issue of justifying the actions of the protagonists.We have discussed most of the problems with the other characters: Michael becomes a violent and powerful leader in the mafia, Anthony turns to crime when his life takes a turn for the worst, and Helena strikes a deal with a drug lord to keep her comfortable lifestyle. In A History of Violence, we really want to sympathize with the main character Tom. Throughout the movie, it became clearer that Tom Stall was actually Joey, and that he was lying to everyone to keep his secret identity out of his life. I personally felt bad for Tom. I assumed he had changed, and that he wanted to put his past behind him and live a normal life. This perspective was easy to maintain until the "rape" scene. In the scene, we don't see the loving, caring Tom Stall. Instead, we see the violent past he sought to cover up. We see Joey instead of Tom. This makes it incredibly hard to sympathize with Tom. He engages in a fist fight with his wife, who is clearly traumatized and dazed from the shootout that just took place. He punches, slaps, and chokes her. Then, when the two fall down on the stairs, Tom immediately has sex with her. I'm not sure why she went along with it. She might be afraid of what Tom will do if she refuses to have sex with him. She could be so dazed and confused from the previous events that she can't push him away. She might also be remembering the man she fell in love with-- Tom Stall-- and trying to reconnect with that identity to calm herself down. Such a horrific and abrupt scene leaves a mark on its viewers. First, it makes it more difficult for the viewer to support the main character. Second, it raises the question of why she didn't try to resist when Tom forced himself upon her. Finally, the scene is our first true glance at Tom's true identity as a violent and murdering mobster.
ReplyDeleteA History of Violence is seemingly different from the other mob movies we’ve seen this year, but as it turns out, this movie has a few similarities to the other works we have seen this year. A History of Violence takes place in a small town, no we haven’t seen a movie like this, but we do see that the small town has a community-like atmosphere. One theme that has been universal in every movie we have seen this short term is community. There was the southern community in Ride with the devil, the Italian community in the Godfather, and this small town community in A History of Violence. There are also correlations between characters in the films. The strongest correlation is the struggle for identity. Tom Stall has two identities and needs to come to a conclusion pertaining to what kind of person he actually is. This story could translate into Ride with the Devil because Holt is having the same problem. One could even say that Michael tries to decide who is in the Godfather. All of the movies also say something about America. The films tackle topics like race, ethnicity, gender, and class. Sometimes they tackle them directly like Ride with the Devil (civil war), or confront them indirectly like a History of Violence (wife is bread winner, American flag mailbox, etc…). What separates this movie from the rest of this pack is the pure graphicness (is this a word?) of it. We’ve seen fight scenes and sex scenes, but they have not been like this. The first sex scene is a married couple trying t spice up their regular life by having a “fantasy” crossed off of the list. The next sex scene is the opposite, a rough-rape-like scene, and this is definitely not considered “making love”. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the two scenes are so different. One happens when the viewer is creating an opinion on Tom, and the second is when Joey first comes home. The sex scenes show each side of Joey (or Tom—whatever floats your boat) and are meant to show the struggle of identity.
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