Amongst the tide of movies that are new on Netflix this week, the world’s biggest streaming service has just gained a hit noughties movie on the Netflix UK library which you’ll be sure to want to watch.
This movie is A History of Violence, which came out in 2005 but was just added to Netflix as of Wednesday, August 7. By the looks of it, this is the first time the movie has been available to watch on Netflix (in the US you can rent it via various services including Prime Video).
A History of Violence is about the owner of a diner in a small town in the US; when he fends off some robbers and becomes a small-town hero, people begin to learn more about a dark past. To say any more would spoiler the movie!
Directed by cult horror icon David Cronenberg, the movie stars The Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen as well as Ed Harris, William Hurt and Maria Bello. Another Rings alum shows up in the music department with Howard Shore writing the score.
The movie was a critical hit when it came out, netting screenwriter Josh Olson a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay and Hurt a nom for Best Supporting Actor, and on Rotten Tomatoes it remains popular with a 88% critics’ score.
However audiences have historically slept on the movie: it made “only” $61 million at the box office (less than double its budget), has a lower audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and remains a lesser-known movie in Cronenberg’s and Mortensen’s filmography.
One reason for that might be some of the content of A History of Violence: there are some scenes that are tough to watch. It also came out right after The Return of the King, and presents a very dramatic role change for Mortensen’s heroic Aragorn (well, except for all the fighting!).
The movie was the first collaboration between Mortensen and Cronenberg, and they’ve since also worked together on Eastern Promises, A Dangerous Method and recently Crimes of the Future.Â
A History of Violence‘s lower profile does mean that you may not have seen it, though, so now that it’s on Netflix, you’ve finally got the opportunity to check out why it’s so beloved amongst critics.
