Billy: I think I'm tired.
Leland: Yeah, me too.
They want to go all the way east, avoid big cities and start a new life.
Leland then kills the cleaning lady and the hotel owner, while Billy turns his gun on the terrified little girl.
Change is never easy.
Not to mention refreshing.
Joey spent three years trying to become Tom. He opened a small shop, married a beautiful wife, had children, and lived a warm and steady life for the first time since he was born. He was almost there. Until the night Billy and Leland tried to rob, the night Tom first killed. Oh no, he was Joey that night.
Chef Mick told him "Nobody's perfect", but he replied indifferently "I guess not". Unfortunately, Mick was right.
That night he saved Mick, saved Charles, saved Charlotte
Tom became famous. After the old enemy Carl brought his subordinates to the door, Tom did not admit his identity. He tried his best to hide it. So Carl's group harassed Tom's family again and again. Until Joey could no longer suppress himself, "I should've killed you back in Philly", that was Tom's first truth. Yes, from that moment on, he couldn't be Tom again.
Worth mentioning is Tom's son Jack. The school villain, Bobby, has been looking for trouble for Jack since he lost the baseball game, until Jack, who has always swallowed it, blushed and slammed his fist at Bobby and sent Bobby to the hospital. When he got home Tom gave Jack a slap because he knew the dangers of violence. Then, Jack shot Carl. Before that, Carl knocked down Tom, who loved his family. After that, it was Joey who got up with blood on his face.
Wife Edie wakes up and quarrels are inevitable. But when Joey was overwhelmed by Sheriff Sam's questioning, Edie stood up and successfully covered Joey. Edie lays on top of Joey and pretends to cry and drives Sam away. Maybe Edie was fake crying at first, but after Sam left, her tears were real. She pushed Joey away and tried to run upstairs. But Joey grabs her by the neck, gets pushed away, grabs her ankle, gets kicked off, and lifts her skirt, and the atmosphere reaches a climax. The two people who had been unable to communicate with each other on the spiritual level completed the dialogue with the body.
Cronenberg used an exterior and an interior to bring out Joey's bestiality, and Tom was long gone. So the film and Philadelphia have ushered in Joey's return at the same time, and revenge is the most suitable catharsis at this time. Since the man behind the scenes, Richie, can ruin his little brother Joey's new life, Joey can take his big brother Richie's life.
At the end of the film, Joey returns home after killing Richie's gang. Pushing the door open, Joey, like a child who did something wrong, drooped his head and blushed, and slowly moved to the dining table. The family of four was silent for a long time. However, Joey was sitting at the table as the youngest daughter Sarah looked at her father with wide eyes, then turned to pick up a set of knives and forks and set it on the table, as if Tom was back. Immediately, Jack handed the cake to his father, and his wife Edie also raised his head with tears on his face.
Not out of forgiveness, but out of compromise. The family accepts Joey, and his past.
The film, called "A History of Violence," never addressed Joey's career as a killer from start to finish, but with Joey's three kills, his past doesn't seem to matter at all. Joey's past is just an introduction, lit Tom at the right moment, and Tom burnt out.
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