Review of A Most Violent Year (2014) by Debanjan C — 19 Aug 2015

"Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain give great performances in the riveting crime drama "A Most Violent Year", one of the best movies from last year".

DVD Movie Review: A Most Violent Year.

Date Viewed: April 15 2015.

Written and Directed By J.C. Chandor (All is Lost and Margin Call).

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, Alessandro Nivola, David Oyelowo, Elyes Gabel, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Ashley Williams, Jerry Adler, Christopher Abbott, Elizabeth Marvel, Glenn Fleshler and Albert Brooks.

What a rich movie this is. "A Most Violent Year" is definitely one of the best movies from last year. It maybe another story about pursuing the American dream but it's also a riveting crime drama. Oscar Issac and Jessica Chastain give great performances in a movie that has echoes from other classic crime movies like "The Godfather", "Goodfellas" and "The Departed". Like many of the movies in my top ten list, "A Most Violent Year" was completely ignored by the Academy because they don't care about violent, gangster pictures. After making a survival-at-sea tale (All is Lost) and a financial-crisis drama (Margin Call), writer and director J.C. Chandor has established himself as a talented filmmaker.

"A Most Violent Year" is set in New York City in 1981, the most violent year in the city's history. Even though it has the word "Violent" in the title, "A Most Violent Year" only has a few scenes of violence. This movie has a lot to say about gun violence in our society and Chandor has put a lot of life into this picture. The perfect cinematography by Bradford Young matches the beauty of Chandor's writing, the dialogue is tight and sharp and the two leads are absolutely remarkable. "A Most Violent Year" follows an immigrant Abel Morales (Isaac), he is the owner of a heating oil company and he just moved into a new home with his family. Abel's company has been plagued by the hijackings of several trucks. Each of the oil trucks are worth thousands of dollars and just when you think it wasn't enough for Abel, he and his company are being investigated for price fixing, tax evasion, fraud and other illegal activities.

Assistant District Attorney Lawrence (David Oyelowo) is determined to expose Abel for his crimes and even the bank won't help Abel for his troubles. His wife, Anna Morales (Chastain) wants Abel to fight back with violence but he wants to be on the right side of the law. Anna has grown up around organized crime, her father has close ties to the mob and she sees her husband as very weak. Even with the help of his attorney, Andrew Walsh (Albert Brooks), Abel can't seem to dodge his legal troubles which threaten to destroy everything that he and his wife have built.

Oscar Isaac should've been nominated for Best Actor, he is terrific as a businessman who wants to pursue the American Dream. With "Ex Machina" and the upcoming "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", Isaac's star power is definitely on the rise. Jessica Chastain delivers another great performance as Abel's ferocious wife, David Oyelowo is a mighty mountain lion as the district attorney and the always underrated Albert Brooks is engrossing as Abel's lawyer. Obviously influenced by Sidney Lumet, "A Most Violent Year" is an excellent crime drama in terms of tone and structure. Among the three films J.C. Chandor has made, "A Most Violent Year" is the best of them all.