As my kind friend Jenny Davidson points out, there is no beard (see link, which she thoughtfully sent me). But there is Viggo. I will watch Viggo in anything, and I'm fond of Cronenberg - earlyish Cronenberg, anyway. So I'm looking forward to their latest collaboration:
"Describing Eastern Promises, Mortensen also quotes Montgomery Clift, who said, “The only line that’s wrong in Shakespeare is that art is holding a mirror up to nature. You hold up a magnifying glass.” And sure enough, if the violence in A History of Violence was shockingly rough, here it’s absolutely hard-core, intensely magnified. A fight in a bathhouse will be one of the most talked-about scenes this year. “It all has such a strong impact because it’s done in real time, not in a fancy way,” says Mortensen. “It’s the forces of nature at work, like watching a snake swallow a frog.” "
I think the review oversells "A History of Violence". It was a good movie, and extremely well acted by Viggo (not that I'm biased), but I wouldn't agree that it was a shoe-in for the Oscars or the Cannes awards (which it also just missed out on). Certainly worth watching on DVD while waiting for "Eastern Promises". Or you could just be normal and have a life, without bothering much with either.
Hey, Maxine -- Ah, Viggo. That multi-talented hunk. In our busyness last year, we rented "History of Violence" about three times and never got around to watching it. Perhaps now's the time -- first kid has gone to college and I am on a hiatus from work (yea!).
I just reread two Jack London novels that were utterly focused on the violence of nature -- "Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" -- and the imperative of wild things who live in harsh climates: "Eat or be eaten." I'd forgotten how much I loved those novels as a kid; they were well worth rereading. Also just to see who Ernest Hemingway's truest role model was!
cheers
Posted by: Susan Balée | 07 September 2007 at 12:52
I liked "History of Violence" well enough, but I was put off by William Hurt's ridiculous accent -- I admit the Philly sound is hard to accurately mimic, but he didn't even come close. Also, I thought the rough sex seemed a little discordant.
Can't complain about Maria Bello in a cheerleading outfit though.
Posted by: Dave K. | 08 September 2007 at 16:47