A History of Violence Quiz / Test | H

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. At the start of the film we saw Tom Stall being dropped off at his diner by his wife Edie. Who played the part of Edie Stall?

Answer: Maria Bello

Maria Bello was nominated for best actress for "A History of Violence" and played her part brilliantly of the loving wife and mother whose life was about to be cruelly torn apart.

Maria Bello has also acted in "Assault on Precinct 13" and "The Dark". She was also in 25 episodes of "ER".

2. Tom was just about shutting up shop in the diner when two crooks, who had been on an armed robbery spree, turned up and wanted his takings. Who played the part of the leader of the thugs?

Answer: Stephen McHattie

Stephen McHattie played Leland Jones, a cold blooded killer and thief. As they had no money, he and his sidekick murdered all the staff in the motel they were staying in and left them in great pools of blood. They made their way into town and Tom's diner, with the intention of armed robbery. They hadn't counted on Tom's lightning reflexes when he dispatched them in breakneck speed and saved his staff from further harm.

Stephen McHattie's brooding looks have made him the ultimate baddie. He has appeared in "300" and "Enterprise", but my favourite was his part in "Centennial" as the half-breed, Jake Pasquinel.

3. After the incident at the diner, Tom's face was then spread all over the news and soon some even more unsavoury characters came into his diner. Three mobsters walked in, and the boss, Carl Fogarty, kept calling Tom by a different name. What was it?

Answer: Joey

Carl, who had a horrible injury to his eye, knew Tom as Joey, a sadistic mobster and hit man from Philadelphia.

Ed Harris played the part of Carl Fogarty with such menace and has been in lots of great films, but he is rarely the main actor. He always plays the supporting actor brilliantly though.

4. As Tom opened his diner the day after the mobsters appeared, he noticed the mobsters' car outside. As they drove off, he had a horrible feeling that they were going to go to his house. He started to run home, but by the time he got there it was too late.

Answer: False

Tom got home and they weren't there at all. His wife was a nervous wreck, he was exhausted and his teenage son asked him what it was all about. Tom told him the truth--that the mobsters thought he was a hit man from Philadelphia called Joey Cusack. Tom was worried for his family and also worried that they would eventually realise that he did have this totally different past.

Viggo Mortensen, who played Tom Stall, has played many different parts in movies and could never be accused of being typecast. His part as Lucifer in "The Prophecy" was the first time I had seen him and then as Aragorn in "Lord of the Rings".

5. The mob boss had followed Edie to the mall. He told her that it was her husband who gave him the injury to his eye. What did the mobster tell her he had done?

Answer: Dragged some barbed wire over his face

The mob boss was determined to convince Edie that Tom was actually Joey, a brutal hit man, but she thought it was a case of mistaken identity. He implied that her husband had led a very different life and that he had a brother, Richie, who was desperate to see him.

6. Jack Stall, Tom and Edie's teenage son, was having bother with a bully at school. The bully beat him up.

Answer: False

Jack was on the baseball team and had caught the bully's shot from bat. The bully, who was very popular, didn't like this at all and thought he would tell Jack so in the changing rooms. Jack managed to make fun of himself which got the bully's friends laughing and the bully decided to leave it for another time.

Ashton Holmes played the part of Jack.

7. Jack was approached by a bully in the school corridor. The bully decided to have a go at Jack because of what had happened to Jack's dad. This time, Jack lost his temper and let the bully have it, big time. What did the bully then do?

Answer: He backed down.

The events of the diner and the harassment of the mobsters, made Jack change from being passive to giving the bully a real hiding. He was angered that these events had changed his normally quiet life and thought that this guy had been bullying him long enough.

The bully, played by Kyle Schmid, really had it coming and you were really rooting for Jack.

8. The mobsters turned up at Tom's house and they had his son, Jack, as hostage. Who killed Carl Fogarty, the mob boss?

Answer: Jack

They had abducted Jack at school and, although he was frightened, he wasn't going to let these mobsters kill his family. The mobsters wanted Tom to go with them back to Philly, to see his brother but Tom was still in denial. Tom launched into action again and another violent outbreak. Jack killed the mobster with the shot gun to save his dad but was in shock that he had. Tom hugged Jack for saving his life, but Jack was disgusted that now they all knew the truth--that Tom was actually Joey Cusack and was no better than the thug that he had just killed.

9. Tom had to drive to Philly to end this dilemma and to have it out with his brother. Who played Richie Cusack?

Answer: William Hurt

Richie was a made man and lived in luxury. Joey and Richie had fallen out a number of years ago when Joey decided to go straight, change his name, and live a different life. They talked for a while, but Richie decided that he couldn't forgive Joey for running out on him.

At Richie's nod, one of his henchmen tried to garrote Joey and another extremely violent scene erupted. Joey managed to kill all three henchmen and then finally his brother, fatally shooting him in the head.

10. When Tom got back home again, he sat down at the table where his wife and kids were having supper. Edie looked up at him and he knew that she still loved him. How did he know?

Answer: The look in her eyes

Joey got home after driving all night and sat down at the dinner table. He wanted to be Tom Stall again and have his life back. The table was set for three and his family had started eating. He didn't know if he was welcome, but his little daughter got up and set a place for him. When Tom and Edie had been intimate with one another earlier in the movie, Tom said to Edie that he knew when she had first fallen in love with him and it was by the look in her eyes.

Brilliant film.

Source: Author TheRambler

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor tiffanyram before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

A History of Violence Trivia Quiz

David Cronenberg's "A History of Violence" was a sinister tale about human nature. A decent man who had a loving wife and family was pushed to the limit to defend his quiet life.

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