Review of A Most Violent Year (2014) by Tyler H — 05 Feb 2015

A MOST VIOLENT YEAR is masterful filmmaking. Digging through a year of film, it's hard to find a movie as well strapped together as this one, aside from maybe WHIPLASH. J.C. Chandor has crafted a meticulous look at one of New York City's most crime-ridden years, 1981.

Taking cues from the master filmmakers of the 1970s and 80s - Scorsese, Pakula, Coppola, and Lumet, in particular - Chandor sets his sights on the American dream, the crime that defiles it, and the men that make their own paths.

We follow Abel - played by Oscar Issac in his best performance yet, emulating but not completely copying the likes of Pacino - who wants nothing but to run a clean, good business. There's just one thing: the odds, and the city, are against him and any other man that try to define the standard criminal means and minds of the streets and businesses of NYC.

Abel is married to Anna, an honest and faithful wife, whose gangster father owned the company before them and who still has a little bit of that Brooklyn edge to her - she doesn't take shit from anyone, and God forbid you go against her husband too.

Jessica Chastain and Oscar Issac provoke incredible chemistry between each other - a husband and wife that know how to separate business and love, and still manage to thrive. Showing his true acting chops in 2011's DRIVE, Albert Brooks shines yet again in this film, playing the family's lawyer - a real Tom Hagen character.

The cast here is beyond wonderful, with even more names: David Oyelowo as the attorney coming after Abel for all the wrong reasons, Alessandro Nivola, and Elyes Gabel. Together, they form the foundation of a film that not only totally enthralls its audience, even in its slower moments, but pulses with passion and depth.

While this film keeps the consistency of Chandor's previous films - all dealing with the similar theme of men in the midst of pure crises - A MOST VIOLENT YEAR sets the new standard for American filmmaking.

There was a moment during this film when I realized I was watching a new American classic and it invigorated me in ways most movies cannot. Shot digitally, but saturated in the brilliant, vibrant, milky hues of 70's film, this is a remarkably gorgeous film.

Bradford Young is proving to be one of the most prominent upcoming names in cinematography - up there with the likes of Emmanuel Lubezki, Robert Elswit, and more. With a young director with a story to tell and a morale to convey, a cast of professionals, a brilliant Director of Photography, a loosely electric soundtrack, and one of the greatest car chases of all time, A MOST VIOLENT YEAR is my favorite film of 2014, tied with WHIPLASH.

See this movie and relish its power and beauty. Here is a film that holds complete control over all its elemental ingredients and harnesses them to great effect. This is a movie in line with the absolute best of all time - like The Godfather - which is ironic because it's actually quite anti-gangster.

Marketed as a classic gangster tale, this movie takes the genre and flips it on its head, blending elements from previous great crime movies and making them even better. That's more than you should ask for from a movie.