Plot
Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is a local restaurant owner in the small town of Millbrook, Indiana. One night two men attempt to rob the restaurant. When one of the criminals is about to kill the waitress, Tom deftly kills both robbers, and his actions make him an overnight celebrity. He is soon visited by scarred gangster Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) who alleges that Tom is actually a gangster named Joey Cusack, who had dealings with him in the Irish Mob in Philadelphia many years ago. Tom vehemently denies these accusations and claims he has never been to Philadelphia, as well as never meeting him before, but Fogarty remains persistent in his claims and continues to stalk the Stall family. Under pressure from Fogarty and his newfound fame, Tom's relationships with his wife Edie (Maria Bello), teenage son Jack (Ashton Holmes), and young daughter Sarah (Heidi Hayes) become strained.
After an argument with Tom over the use of violence after he brutally assaults a bully at school, Jack runs off and is caught by Fogarty. With Jack as his hostage, Fogarty and his men go to the Stall house and demand that "Joey" return with them to Philadelphia. Tom kills Fogarty's men with the same precision he used against the robbers, while Jack kills Fogarty with a shotgun in defense of his father. At the hospital, Edie confronts Tom, claiming that while he was attacking Fogarty's men, she saw the real "Joey" that Fogerty was talking about. Tom shocks Edie by admitting that he is actually Joey Cusack, and that he had killed for both money and pleasure. He tells Edie that he ran away from Philadelphia to escape his criminal past. Tom stated he spent 3 years changing his life around in order to rid himself of the violent gangster in him, and to start a normal life as "Tom Stall".
After Tom gets out of the hospital, Sam, the local sheriff pays him a visit. Sam expresses his confusion about everything that happened. He tells them that these mobsters wouldn't go to all this trouble if they weren't sure they had the right man. Just when Tom is about to confess, Edie defends him and lies to Sam, claiming that Tom is who he says he is, and their family has suffered enough. At a loss for words after Edie breaks down into tears, Sam leaves. This furthers the tensions in their marriage.
Tom receives a call from his brother Richie Cusack (William Hurt), who also demands his return to Philadelphia, or else he will come see him. After traveling to Philadelphia and confronting his brother, Tom learns that the other mobsters whom he had offended in Philadelphia took out their frustrations on Richie, preventing him from moving up in the criminal organization. Tom offers to make peace, but Richie orders his men to kill him. Tom defends himself and kills Richie and the guards.
Tom returns home, but the atmosphere is tense and silent as the Stalls sit around the dinner table. The fate of his marriage and the future of his life as Tom Stall is uncertain, but Jack and Sarah indicate their acceptance of their father by setting a plate for him and passing him some food.
Read more about this topic: History Of Violence
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—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)