Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is a diner owner that lives in Indiana with his family. All goes smoothly until one night two hitmen enter the place and menace everyone at gunpoint. Stall shoots at them and this small event makes news and he is hailed as an hero. Few days later gangster Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) comes to the diner with two of his men and tells Tom that he is actually an hitman that was involved with the Irish mob. Tom denies this but Carl and his goons stalk his family. After some confrontations and an accidental shooting Tom confesses to his wife that he started a new life for escaping his past. And Stall has no other choice than go to Philadelphia for visiting his brother Richie Cusack (William Hurt) and demanding peace, but since Richie had problems with the mob thanks to Tom's wanting of a new life, he orders his men to kill him not until Tom has the upper hand (and returns home safely with the usual life).
I am not a huge fan of David Cronenberg but I was curious about this movie for years and when I finally saw it, I could see why it has some sort of cult movie status and it's considered one of his best. The acting is great by all: Viggo Mortensen gives a very compelling performance as a man dealing with a double identity, Ed Harris has a nice supporting role and the late William Hurt, despite being on screen for only less than 10 minutes, is great and I could see why he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The photography and soundtrack were nice and fit well the movie's atmospherer. Sure it has some violent and bloody scenes, but the pros outweighted the cons.
Highly recommended not only for Cronenberg fans but also for thriller fans.
I am not a huge fan of David Cronenberg but I was curious about this movie for years and when I finally saw it, I could see why it has some sort of cult movie status and it's considered one of his best. The acting is great by all: Viggo Mortensen gives a very compelling performance as a man dealing with a double identity, Ed Harris has a nice supporting role and the late William Hurt, despite being on screen for only less than 10 minutes, is great and I could see why he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The photography and soundtrack were nice and fit well the movie's atmospherer. Sure it has some violent and bloody scenes, but the pros outweighted the cons.
Highly recommended not only for Cronenberg fans but also for thriller fans.