A Most Violent Year (2014)

First of all let me just say, if IMDb allowed 0.5 votes, this would probably get a 6.5 from me. Where to begin with this one ? Well it's shot well, the cast nail the parts, but from start to finish you are waiting for the film to come to life, and unfortunately it just never does.

Some people will appreciate this film much more than others, but for me it was average at best. The main reason we all watch films and television, is to be entertained, and unfortunately with A Most Violent Year, it feels like we have been left wanting.

You never really get to appreciate 1980s New York, a couple of panoramic skylines don't really cut it. With a bit more substance to the story, better visuals & some period music, this film could & should have been much better.

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Fmovies: In 1981, an immigrant oilman struggles to improve his fortune and protect his family during the most dangerous year in New York City's history. A Most Violent Year is a strong, character-driven drama that's lifted infinitely by terrific lead performances by Oscar Isaacs and Jessica Chastain, inflating what could have been a tiresome, trite look at one man versus the world in an unkind city.

Abel Morales (Isaac) runs Standard Oil, and he has his eyes on some prime waterfront real estate. With this land, he'll be able to fill his trucks from directly from the oil barges on the river, rather than have the oil transported from boat to someone else's trucks and then to his warehouses. And by saving money there, he'll be able to buy a little more oil than he normally would, keep it on the premises, and then sell it to customers or competitors when demand rises. He makes a deal for the land with a sizable down payment and the stipulation that the balance be tendered within 30 days - no extensions allowed. This, of course, is before Abel's company comes under investigation by an intrepid detective (David Oyelowo), his trucks get highjacked and the oil stolen, and his backers start to, well, back away.

But Abel is no wilting flower, whether he's dealing with the fuzz or the other oilmen in the city. He has his convictions, and damned if he's going to give them up to appease anyone. Which, as you might suspect, makes things a little more difficult. His wife Anna (Chastain), who can match Abel in sheer willpower, is also fiercely protective of her husband, her business (she's the bookkeeper), and her family. Sort of a two-pronged attack. Abel's charm and style nets him both friends and enemies, but this isn't yet another mobster movie by any means. In fact, the only direct evidence of organized crime in the movie centers around Abel's competition - men who would do anything to maintain and/or increase their share of the lucrative oil business in the city.

Both Isaacs (Inside Llewyn Davis) and Chastain (Interstellar) deliver powerful performances that manage to be both relatable and fascinating. Theirs is not a one-sided relationship. Abel is not some power-mad, bombastic husband who treats the wife and kids as either baggage or items to be used for fun and profit. Anna is not some melodramatic, over-spirited harpy who resents her husband's work obsession. They work together even when they disagree. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention an almost unrecognizable Albert Brooks, the company's astute and slightly amoral lawyer. Brooks, in what appears to be a Karl Malden wig, is a real treat.

A Most Violent Year carries a strong message, and that message is this: don't count the little guy out, particularly when he (and his spouse) is whip-smart, unafraid to take chances, and endlessly resourceful. High praise indeed for director J.C. Chandor (All Is Lost) and his talented cast.

Chandor (All is Lost) is one of the more prolific young directors working. With AMVY, an adult mystery-drama-thriller, he screams of the classics: tension of French Connection, quiet of Chinatown, and menace of Mean Streets. It's a fantastic period piece that creates an authentic, distinct look at 1980s New York, while tonally replicating films from that era. Is it a bit TOO quiet and a bit TOO slow at times? YepÂ…but the taut skill on display is too good to ignore. Abel Morales, a successful, hardworking oil company owner, tries to thrive and survive during 1981 NYC, the most violent year in history. Despite this premise, the crime-action is more a successfully imminent background thought than a constant in-your- face presence. As the movie progresses and ultimately gets better, the subtle suspense builds, and each individual incident pushes Morales closer to his breaking point. Isaac shines in the protagonist role, playing one of the coolest characters around: broken yet proud, strong yet vulnerable, decent yet pressed, and shrewdly bad-to-the-bone. I wish Chastain was a bit more up to the task as his ominous, hardly-doting wife, but luckily she's not a huge distraction to the otherwise stellar acting by some of Hollywood's great new talents. Throughout the solid work being done, we are presented with some great things to ponder: wanting the American dream without knowing why; struggling to be successful without becoming corrupt; juggling humility and pride in a world that drains you. Unfortunately the character's relationships with these different questions bring the movie to a bore at times. Mostly though, it manages to be a solid little award-season drama.

A Most Violent Year fmovies. So I read a lot of complaints about the movie being slow and missing tension and violence. Why? Because of the title? Do the viewers nowadays pick their movies just on title and trailer?

The title is perfect: This movie is all about violence. Every single moment in this film is a consequence of- or triggered by violence. Even all the news broadcasts on the radio are about violence. Abel's business is, as he says "in a rough patch". There are good years and bad years and this one is a particularly bad one. The fact that the movie doesn't feature a lot of violence makes it an even better one as the threat of it is constantly palpable.

As for the tension: my god, what tension did I feel. I won't describe moments, but one particular chase sequence had me biting my nails, and I haven't done that in a very long time. There is constant tension in almost every scene and almost unbearable tension in some. And of course throughout the whole film you keep asking yourself; is he that honest, will he yield, or will he even snap. Oscar Isaac's role as Abel is written and played out so well I can understand the comparisons to Pacino's Michael Corleone in the Godfather. Hell you could even mention the two films in one breath. It has a great classic feel to it, though this is much smaller and more intimate.

A modern classic like: "We own the night" by James Gray or the recent "The Drop" by Michael R. Roskam. Beautiful slow burning masterpieces. This film will stay with me for quite a while. I'll put it away, wait for a rainy day somewhere in winter and experience it all over again. 8/10

J.C. Chandor's A Most Violent Year is almost lyrical in its beauty, exuding a sepia-toned environment that captures essence rather than exploiting nostalgia of the time period. It's 1981, said to be one of New York's most violent years, and, paradoxically, A Most Violent Year doesn't focus on the incredibly violent; it focuses on what happens between all the violence and on the outskirts of all the madness. We follow Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac), who runs Standard Oil, a heating oil company that has been plagued by frequent hijackings of the company's utility trucks, resulting in thousands of dollars in lost materials. Abel is a man who tries to have a firm moral compass, believing in the good of people and resisting the temptation to give into complete and total corruption, despite being heavily influenced to do so by his wife Anna (Jessica Chastain).

On top of the company losing money with every hijacking, a District Attorney named Lawrence (David Oyelowo) is in the process of investigating Standard Oil's fraudulent activity, such as price fixing and tax evasion. This brings Abel's company and dreams down even more, leading him to seek the purchase of an oil terminal on a river bank with the leader of Jewish Chassidim (Jerry Adler). This purchase would allow for more storage for Abel's company, which will help for when fuel prices lower in the summertime and eventually rise during the winter. He tries to manage this all while minimizing relations with gangsters and attempting not to turn into the person he promised himself he didn't want to become.

A Most Violent Year's marketing campaign made it seem as if this film was a hardened gangster epic. The film itself, however, finds ways to work against that stereotype, acting as the contrasting force or the "anti" to a great deal of gangster films thanks to the ethics of its character. Abel's character is a fascinating one because never does he fall into the category of being an anti-hero or a traditional hero. He tows the line, and even by the end of the film, we're not totally sure if we're supposed to side with him because we've seen him do equally admirable and contemptible things.

The problem with Abel's methods is that while he's willing to play fair, he has found that his business, and the business world in general, calls for grittier, more devious play, which is why we see him in the mess he's in now. Writer/director Chandor explores how man gets sucked into this world whilst trying to function in the business world, almost suggesting that the system encourages and eventually forces such drastic illegalities to take place over time. The idea that large-scale business operations and closed-door corruption exist in unison is by no means a new idea, but Chandor magnifies the idea through an intriguing lens, giving us a character that is trying to function on this dirty playing field and learning this idea the hard way.

Abel, at times, acts like Job, if we're going to toy a bit with the name of Abel, presuming it has biblical relevance here. Abel's morality is tested on various occasions, and like Job, in some respects, he tries to stay true to what he believes, but once he recognizes he's in a business that demands risk and self-interest, it's difficult for him to stay on this particular path of righteousness.

It only helps that Abel's struggle is humanized and brought to life by a character actor as powerful and talented as Oscar Isaac. Isaac

Having seen it a few days ago, the more I think of "A Most Violent Year", the more I like it.

This is not a spoiler, but a friendly tip: don't expect a lot of what the title implies, because the movie does not focus on violence.

While there are tense and violent moments, the movie's strenght lies in the performances and the interactions between characters.

Oscar Isaac plays Abel, a businessman who is trying to make a clean living while being more and more pressured by an unknown threat. The competition plays dirty while he wants to stay an honest man.

Abel's moral struggle is what the narrative revolves around. Jessica Chastain play Anna, Abel's wife and business partner. She is equally as powerful, assertive and dominant as he is, if not more so.

The director did a wonderful job at creating a tense, sad and dramatic mood throughout. The cinematography is wonderful, the subtle moody soundtrack plays a big part in creating a feeling of impending doom throughout the entire movie, and I am very impressed by the recreation of a 1981 New York. It's very immersive.

While nothing mainstream audiences will drool over, I find "A Most Violent Year" an excellent drama. If you like this movie, you should give "The Two Faces Of January" a chance as well. Not only you would notice what a chameleon Oscar Isaac is, but you might enjoy the classic mood and character-driven vibe of that film as well.