[limacharliewhiskey]

I can sort of understand what Piratehunter is saying, but then I think part of reason for the nudity was to shock us a bit. The violence sure as hell shocked me throughout the movie, even when I knew it was coming. Faces getting blown off, jaws hanging off the face, just incredibly bloody scenes that effectively shocked the audience. I think the brief nudity was meant to achieve a bit of a similar effect, but not with as much impact.

Was it gratuitous nudity? Hard to say, because her character only pauses at the door for a second, then walks away immediately. It's not like the camera zoomed in up close and panned slowly up and down her entire body.

It is sometimes hard to say when nudity becomes gratuitous. Some people think any nudity whatsoever is gratuituous, even the shower scene in Schindler's List.

Does the nudity in A History of Violence add more to the story? To me, it does a little bit, and it does keep the shock factor going during a part of the movie where the tension slows down a bit.