Skip to main content

A Most Violent Year


Starring: Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, and David Oyelowo
Directed by: J.C. Chandor
Screenplay by: J.C. Chandor

   It's New York City, 1981.  The city is full of crime and a very dangerous place.  Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac), an immigrant businessman, is running a successful heating oil company.  He's about to close a deal that would allow him to be even more profitable by buying a waterfront shipping yard.  He needs more money before the sale is finalized, but when he needs the money most, something goes wrong.
   People are starting to assault Morales's truck drivers and stealing the oil inside them.  Thugs are also coming to Morales's home and threatening him and his family.  Abel is worried about working too hard to find out who's doing it because his company is already so successful that he's caught the eye of the District Attorney's office.  His wife, Anna (Jessica Chastain) who comes from a mob family isn't afraid to do what needs to be done to keep the family and business safe.
   The storyline is very short for this film, but is well detailed as well as drawn out.  Events happen very slowly with dialogue seeming somewhat minimal in places.  If you are not into movies like this, you might find yourself a little bored.  The characterization is minimal as well.  We don't know a whole lot about these characters, and the little we do know about them (sometimes even the important details about characters, like Abel being an immigrant) is often just implied or barely touched on.  For example, I would like to have seen more exploitation of the fact that Abel is an immigrant businessman.
    There is not a single bad acting performance in this film, and in fact it has some of the best overall acting I've seen all year.  Oscar Isaac is fantastic, yet apparently not Oscar worthy according to the Academy.  This is a nomination that should have happened, as well as Jessica Chastain for her role as Anna.  They work incredibly well together and make an excellent on screen couple.  I hope they will make more movies together.  J.C. Chandor directs this film brilliantly, bringing out some classic noir elements that aren't always found in films like this in this day in age.
    A Most Violent Year is one of the movies that has been hard to find since it was released back on New Year's Eve.  But if you can find it, it is absolutely worth seeing!  I cannot recommend this movie enough.  I give A Most Violent Year an A.

Image from Comingsoon.net

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Unknown

Starring: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, and January Jones Directed by:   Jaume Collet-Serra Screenplay by: Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell     "They had me convinced I was crazy.  But when they came to take me I knew."  Identity theft is a major problem in today's world, but it can't get much worse than the situation present in Unknown .       While on a trip to a biotechnology conference in Berlin, Germany, Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) is involved in a car crash putting him in a coma for four days.  He awakens to find out that not only has his identity been taken, but he has been replaced by someone who also claims to be him.  Even his wife Elizabeth (January Jones) claims to not recognize him.  He begins to believe that his entire life has been thrown away, or never existed at all.  As he finds people who can help him remember what happened to him before the crash, he becomes part of a conspiracy involving...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Hunger Games

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth Directed by: Gary Ross Screenplay by: Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins      If reality television hasn't gone too far yet, then this show should definitely make it go too far.      In a futuristic nation called Panem, one boy and one girl are selected from each of the nation's twelve districts to represent them in an annual television event called the Hunger Games.  Of the 24 contestants, only one will survive in this televised fight to the death.      I like the concept of the story.  While this futuristic society seems somewhat simple, it does not seem all that well developed.  It is unknown how this society came into being, even though it is known how the Hunger Games began.      If this film were released last year, I would have hoped it would be nominated for best make-up.  Many of the characters ...
2 comments
Read more

Django Unchained

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson Directed by: Quentin Tarantino Screenplay by: Quentin Tarantino      I think it's safe to say that this film is the most badass film of 2012.  My only explanation; Quentin Tarantino!!!!      When someone asks what a Quentin Tarantino film is about, I first respond with "that's a good question".  But there is actually a real story behind all of his films, including Django Unchained.        Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) is a bounty hunter in the pre-Civil War South.  He's looking for a group of bandits known as the Brittle brothers.  He comes across a slave in a slave transport known as Django (the D is silent (Jamie Foxx)), who knows where to find the Brittle brothers.  But Django has a wife he wants to find (Kerry Washington).  She's a slave at a plantation owned by Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). ...
1 comment
Read more