Review of A Most Violent Year (2014) by Finnigan37 — 05 Feb 2015

A Most Violent Year = a mostly boring movie. The best compliment I can pay to this film is that it is not quite as boring as it rightfully should have been. Mostly this is due to actors making the best of the material and decent cinematography.

Quite simply, this was not a story worth telling. The film is painfully slow and drawn out (one of the worst things you can say about a film is that it seemed much longer than it actually was) with very little action and, well, violence. That would all be fine if the plot was compelling in other ways, but it just isn't. The stakes are low, the characters are dry and one-dimensional, and there isn't much for the audience to actually care about or root for. Should we really care if some guy closes a deal on a piece of waterfront property to expand his heating oil business in 1981?

Ultimately, the film mostly consists of Oscar Isaac sulking around, having conversations, and making uncomfortably-long eye contact with various people.

Don't be fooled by the critical reception. This is apparently one of those films that critics will themselves to like, but which will leave most viewers perplexed by the praise.