Driving around the city after Christmas, I heard a bit of David Cronenberg on Fresh Air, as Terry Gross was doing her 2005 retrospective of her favorite interviews. Cronenberg was answering questions about his most recent film, A History of Violence, which I haven’t seen.
Later in the day, I was in Borders, taking advantage of a holiday gift card, and I picked up the graphic novel A History of Violence. I had no idea this is where the story started (in 1997), but with all the comic-to-movie conversion over the last decade-plus, I’m hardly surprised.
The graphic novel is written by John Wagner, with art by Vince Locke. Reading it took 40 minutes or so, but left me thinking much longer. I now wonder whether or not I could stomach the movie, which is getting rave reviews. The story stuns. The violence is brutal, but it’s part of the tale. Only the full-page image of Richie on p.268 lingers too strongly, though. Made me think of something from Sin City (the movie) or maybe Silence of the Lambs. Gruesome, iconic, and barely human.
I think I’m going to have to see the movie at some point. The story is just too strong, and I’m curious about the differences. Moving from one visual medium to another should be less jarring than print to screen, but the menacing mood will have to be built differently in the movie, without the black-and-white starkness of the novel.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Pat Roberts // Jan 3, 2006 at 8:53 am
I found the movie so good that I found and read the graphic novel later. I think the movie is better than the novel (no offense to its creators). Cronenberg tightens up several details which serve to raise the stakes. And I think the themes of the contamination of violence and society’s glorification of violence come through more clearly. The film is violent, but I don’t think it revels in the violence, nor does it linger on the gory parts. (Unlike a still image, cinematic image has an element of time – in this case Cronenberg moves on from the gore.) I HIGHLY recommend this film. I also believe that it is Cronenbergs’ most accessible film, so if anyone has been put off by his previous excellent (but disturbing and twisted) work, I would still say, “see this movie”.
2 Movie: A History of Violence | clock — watching time, the only true currency // Apr 16, 2007 at 10:21 pm
[...] I read the graphic novel over a year ago. The film version of A History of Violence has been on the list ever since. The film was solid. Different, though, in its patience and willingness to linger even further on the small town scenes instead of the Philadelphia backstory and finale. [...]
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