i do not realise this be a cronenberg movie until after it have finish . in fact and i do not know much about the movie at all and but after some good recommendation from friend i be quite look forward to it . rest assure and from now on and i will never listen to another word those friend say regard movie . the only way i can describe this picture without swearing be a mess . in fact and it be so bad it encourage me to sign up to imdb so i could express just how painful an experience watch a history of violence be . the film start ( by this i mean the opening scene ) promisingly i think and with a nice long draw out open shot and some distant and spacey acting . it also hint somewhat of the nastiness to come . the quality of the film then immediately rear it head in the following child wake up from nightmare scene . ( possible spoiler and but of the most minimal kind ) aragorn or viggo mortensen wouldid you have a bad dream sarah . pointless daughter character yes i do daddy ( son wake up and enters pointless daughter room ) bland son what go on . aragorn sarah have a bad dream son bland son oh no dad ( mother or bird from er or that terrible movie where they dance on the bar enters pointless daughter room ) bird from er what the matter honey . do you have a bad dream . pointless daughter character ( visibly get bore now by the sheer length of the scene ) yes mommy and i be go to sleep with the light on all what a great idea . now and do a scene like this really need to last what feel like over three minute . i understand that cronenberg attempt to set up a semblance of the family quiet life and how much love they have each other and but surely there be more subtle way than this . now and i also realise that some may say cronenberg often favour the more direct approach and try to test his audience with occasional bout of realism straight out of a comic book and but i be sorry and just because he have build up a reputation of do thing this way ( which on many occasion i have hugely enjoy ) and do not mean he get away with sheer sloppiness of this magnitude . i think spider be a great example of cronenberg occasionally approach his subject matter from a more considered perspective and but precious little of that subtlety be on display in a history of violence . the acting and i also think and be below par . mortensen be okay and though it seem like he be repeat every other sentence that come out of his mouth . perhaps this be try to portray tom talk for his own benefit as well a others and convince himself of that thing he say be right and for the best and but even if that be the case it just come off a downright annoy . maria bello should stay on tv and ed harris be . well and ed harris and and william hurt what the big deal . he be on screen for all of five minute and at no point during that period of time do i see him do or say anything of worth or and a some have suggest and amusement . he should have stay on the set of lose in space . now and the violence and sexual content . put simply and i really do not care . not at one moment in the movie do i feel any emotional contact with any of the character violent action ( and their reason for commit them ) save for spoiler the son knock the crap out of his tormentor at school and and that be simply because throughout i find the bully character so utterly pathetic and laughable that for all i care he might as well have be put in hospital . end spoiler none of the violence really offend me . sure i be shock in a few place and but that be simply because within a matter of second spoiler one of the bad guy have the front of his face hang off . end spoiler so in this respect and cronenberg doesn not hold back with and or indeed glamorise the violence and and certainly show the immediacy and horror of it all and but to be honest and so what . it hardly a difficult task to accomplish and especially for someone of cronenberg ability . some of the sexual content also strike me a crass . spoiler now and do not get me wrong and i be always down for maria bello with a completely untied dress gown ( in fact i wait what felt like year for that to happen in er ) and but and in the context of the film and for the love of god why . so her and aragorn get busy on the stair in an odd what go to happen moment and then he sit in the bedroom and she come out naked and close her dress gown and run away in disgust . so now they can not have sex anymore . end spoiler do cronenberg regard his audience a complete moron . or be there really no other way to indicate maria bello feeling towards mortensen character . on this evidence and david cronenberg be turn into paul verhoeven sans the wit . i do not often say this about movie and but go to see a history of violence felt like a waste of money . usually there something in a film i can invest in and be it a character and the cinematography or even the score and something that actually go to the movie really accentuates and but this picture have none of the aforementioned redeeming feature . that say and i probably wouldn not let other people opinion form a basis on whether i shouldn not bother see a movie . all i be say be and if you have to satisfy your curiosity and wait for the dvd .