This has been called the best David Cronenberg film in a long time. Whilst I disagree with that statement (I think Spider was superb), this is very good film indeed.
Viggo Mortensen plays Tom Stall, a family man living in a small town who runs the local diner. Maria Bello plays wife and he has a teenage son and a young daughter. The family is so sickly perfect that you know something bad is going to happen. The daughter has a nightmare and everybody comes in to comfort her, even her big brother who you would expect to be more pissed off at being woken up than supportive. The couple are still very much in love and have a healthy sex life which, after so many years of marriage, isn't always the case.
The ball is set rolling when 2 bad guys hold up Tom's diner one night. He kills both of them in an expert manner, suggesting he's done that kind of thing before. He is hailed as a hero and is on every news channel. Then another bad guy (Ed Harris) shows up, this time it's the mob from Philadelphia. He think Tom is Joey Cusack, a gangster who tried to rip out his eye with barbed wire. He frightens the family and causes them to question Tom's identity - "Why don't you ask Tom how come he's so good at killing people ?".
It's a good thriller with plenty of twists and turns with good performances from everybody (except William Hurt who hams it up a little too much). It's also quite funny in parts. My only complaint is that the violence is a little too gory for my tastes but what else can you expect with the title of the film ? Highly recommended.