Inspired by the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vincent Locke, A History of Violence is a Western of a sort, and a departure from Cronenberg’s previous output. Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen), owner of a restaurant in a small city in the Midwest, becomes a local hero when he defends his customers from two robbers. But his brave act sets in motion a series of events that form a biting analysis of violence, honesty and identity.