Review of A Most Violent Year (2014) by Heatherm — 04 Feb 2015

I was really impressed with the slow, deliberate pacing of this movie. Abel Morales' reluctance to engage in criminal behaviour complicates his position, as he attempts to adapt his own moral code to the looser morals of all those around him, from the DA, to his wife, to his competitors in business.

Oscar Isaac's calm and quiet portrayal of this sombre character is compelling, especially when he finds himself arguing with his much more temperamental wife, played beautifully by Jessica Chastain. The quiet constancy of Isaac's character means that when his temper flares, it's that much more intense to watch.

I loved the character's insistence on his own particular moral system and his attempts to hold himself and others to those standards.