Review of A Most Violent Year (2014) by Kyle W — 18 Feb 2015

Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) is a Colombian immigrant who's worked his way up to the owner of a heating oil delivery service. He's got it all - money, power, a sexy wife played by Jessica Chastain, and a killer camel-hair coat - but he still wants more.

How he gets it is the dramatic question of the latest entry in J.C. Chandor's impressive filmography. The film unavoidably gives off the air of "The Godfather: Part IV" (Chandor employs a similar slow-burn technique, violence constantly lurking on the edge of the frame, and Isaac's performance instantly conjures up the ghost of Pacino in "Part II").

And yet Chandor takes an alternate route - namely, dramatizing how one climbs the ladder in a society so reliant on fraud and violence without compromising one's morals. That's Abel's dilemma, and it's incredibly engaging to watch, thanks to a fantastic collaboration between Chandor's script and direction and the actors involved, not to mention a tense Pink Floyd-esque score by Alex Ebert.

The only real problem is in the Chastain character. Chandor writes her as a pretty flat daughter of a gangster, the kind who 40 years ago would say things like, "Show me what you got, mister." This would all be well and good, but Chastain is simply too good an actress and the character seems an odd fit.

Still, this is one of the most sneakily great movies of the year, and more proof that Chandor is one of our most consistent up-and-coming filmmakers.