This afternoon, I saw A History of Violence (paying for Serenity instead, of course). It's probably the most "normal" David Cronenberg movie I've ever seen... but it still has some rather out there violence and sex by average film standards.
Many of the moments in the movie are clearly intended to make the audience uncomfortable. Different people react to being uncomfortable in different ways. Unfortunately, some people giggle nervously or laugh uncontrollably. Consequently, there were people laughing throughout the movie at wholly inappropriate moments. My experience is not unique, either -- I've had a conversation with another person who saw the movie, and relayed the same experience.
But setting aside the experience to talk about the film itself... well, I thought it was too tight. Too short. A few key bits of backstory, explaining exactly why certain characters were doing the things they were doing, were sorely lacking. I can't really give specifics without spoiling plot, so I'll avoid that. Bottom line, the movie just didn't have enough "connective tissue." Characters sometimes came off more as caricatures.
Despite these shortcomings, the movie did work on other levels -- as I said, chiefly in making the audience uncomfortable at times. So, summing it all up, I give it a B-. You probably already knew if you wanted to see it or not, so perhaps my review will do little more than adjust your expectations if you are going. I think much of the critical praise it's receiving is a little overstated.
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