MPAA Rating: R/Genre: Crime Drama/Stars: Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, Alessandro Nivola, David Oyelowo, Albert Brooks, Robert Clohessy, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Ashley Williams, Elyes Gabel, Jerry Adler, Christopher Abbott, Elizabeth Marvel, Peter Gerety, Glenn Fleshler, David Margulies, Annie Funke, Patrick Breen, Matthew Maher, Jason Ralph/Runtime: 125 minutes
I think it is a fairly safe argument to make dear reader that every director can, should they possess both the heart and skill to do so, find it within themselves to at the very least make one great film that can define them for the rest of their career. Of course, a lot of directors can also make a second genuinely great film and by doing so not only do they add another winning entry to their respective filmographies, but they are also able to showcase for an audience that the potential they displayed in their first directorial effort was no mere fluke. However, if a director is able to make no less than three genuinely great films in a row then that individual is no longer merely just a director to be applauded. Rather, that is also someone who should be watched with a significant degree of interest and who should also immediately capture a movie goer’s attention whenever they put their name on a project from that point forward. The reason I bring this up to you dear reader is because it is my express belief that film helmer J.C. Chandor is most assuredly a member of that last group. Indeed for those of you who don’t know, this director is one who started off his cinematic hat trick in the long-ago year of 2011 with a film called Margin Call in which he and a truly stacked cast of talent took movie goers by the hand back to 2008 and presented them with a taut and riveting look at the early hours of the global financial meltdown. From there, we see that he then presented us in the year 2013 with a quiet yet incredible and riveting in its own right film called All Is Lost which featured screen legend Robert Redford as a solitary sailor struggling to survive out at sea amidst a series of obstacles. This then brings us to the slice of cinema I am reviewing for you today, 2014/2015 (depending on when you first saw it)’s A Most Violent Year, and once again there is no denying that Chandor manages to just knock it completely out of the park with this look at a businessman desperately trying to stay legit/moral amidst a string of incidents that are threatening to wreck some serious havoc on not only his family, but also derail his business as well. To be sure, this is one slice of cinema that is not going to be for everyone due in large part to how it places more of a focus on character and landscape than action and thrills. Should you be in the mood though for a taut and engaging film that, with the aid of truly potent work on both sides of the camera, feels very much like the kind iconic film director Sydney Lumet would have made back in the day then I promise that A Most Violent Year is one film that will deliver you exactly what you are looking for and then some in the best way possible.
The plot is as follows: Taking us an audience back in time to New York City in the long-ago year of 1981, A Most Violent Year gets its riveting crime saga underway by introducing us to a man by the name of Abel Morales. A man who, among other noteworthy details worth knowing about him, is desperately doing the best he can to achieve the so-called “American Dream” albeit with a degree of morality that many might not think to choose to utilize in their pursuits in life. A quest that, so far, has actually managed to turn out quite well all things considered. This is because, upon marrying his lovely wife Anna, we see that our hero chose to purchase her father’s heating-oil business and, without having to resorting to any underhanded tactics whatsoever, has made the business so successful that he and his family are in the process of moving into quite the luxurious new home. He also is the top man on the list of those trying to buy a top-of-the-line terminal on the East River that would help him to grow his business on a scale hitherto undreamt of. Even with life going great for our hero however, we see that it isn’t long before a collection of challenges starts to make themselves apparent. The first is that the industry in which our hero is a part is one that is known to be full to the brim with less than legal actions. As a result, we see that a member of the D.A.’s office, a Mr. Lawrence, has been assigned to try and get the industry on the up and up with part of his tasks being to take a look at Abel’s business during the time it was owned by his dear ol’ father-in-law. This is particularly troubling for our hero because, despite his lack of corruption and/or illegal actions, the same can’t be said for his father-in-law which means Abel could still be held legally accountable even though he personally never did anything wrong. On top of that, he’s also dealing with the fact that a mystery individual is engaging in a variety of methods, be it stealing significantly from his trucks all the way to beating up members of his work team and even threatening his family. A particularly thorny problem for him because he might not know exactly who’s behind these incidents, but he does know a competitor of his must be involved somehow since what was stolen from him can only be placed at a facility much like his own. Thus with Anna, who is significantly more ruthless in how she would like the situation to be handled, and his loyal lawyer Andrew Walsh by his side can Able do everything in his power to keep his business, family, and himself in one piece let alone safe from further harm or is this one case of the American Dream that is sadly about to come crashing down? That I shall let you discover for yourself….
Now right off, it should be noted that the work done behind the camera on this film is truly impeccable in every sense of the word. This starts with Chandor’s work at the helm and indeed he does a genuinely masterful job here with his directorial duties. Perhaps the most significant thing he engages in is, unlike many films of a similar nature to this one, Chandor makes the creative choice to let all the ingredients in this distinct cinematic gumbo simmer for as long as possible thereby ensuring that he is able to not intricately and strategically construct the tension inherent to this story at a tempo that might be a bit slow for some, but for those on its particular wavelength should prove to be quite effective. Yes, if he had wanted to, he could have easily tried to make the film faster paced or insert significantly more action beats into the mix, but by doing so I think that would not have been the best choice for this film to make. I say that because, when you strip everything else away, this is not a story about gun battles and fisticuffs. Rather, it’s about someone who is doing everything he can to avoid letting those things infiltrate his world despite them being seemingly all-around him. Therefore, whilst placing those things in would have brought in a much bigger audience to be sure, it also would have felt out of place in the world that Chandor is trying to build for us here. We also see that this film’s editing department does a terrific job of delivering for us lengthy and deliberately paced, yet almost silent moments where the dialogue being spoken by the characters takes control with only the hum of a genuinely effective musical accompaniment from the immensely talented Alex Ebert (no relation to one Roger Ebert…as far as I know) for company. A style that results in the film being able to place us in its world a heck of a lot more effectively than it might’ve otherwise been able to. We also see that not only does the film further place us back in NYC of the 80s through effective work by both the production design and costume departments, but also by skilled cinematographer Bradford Young who does a brilliant job of shooting this film via by an on-point subdued yet sharp filter that helps make this film feel like one that was actually shot in the 80s yet is just now getting released into theaters. Indeed perhaps the best thing that I can say about the work being done behind the camera here is that if there is a slice of cinema that I can with complete confidence compare to it would be the 2007 film Zodiac from David Fincher. Not just in terms of its immense skill or phenomenal attention to detail, but for it manages to take us back to a specific point in time (early 80s for this film and 60s/70s for Zodiac) and not once does it feel faked in any way. Suffice it to say then that there might be a few hiccups here and there, but for the most part the work done in terms of the behind the camera work on this slice of cinema truly is without a doubt in my mind both brilliantly done to say nothing of a genuine treat for the eyes and the ears in equal measure.
Of course, it also doesn’t hurt this film in the least that the performances given by the immensely talented cast in front of the camera is able to match the quality of the work done behind the camera beat for beat. This starts with the work done by Oscar Isaac and he is fantastic. Indeed in the lead role of Abel, Isaac does a top-tier job at giving us a character who we find ourselves torn on throughout. This is because while we respect him immensely for being both tough yet also honest in a world where 99.9% of the people that are a part of aren’t exactly on the up and up, we are also continually curious as if he will choose to sink into the very abyss where the people trying to take him out so he can get to them first. Suffice it to say that it’s a fairly nuanced turn from one of the brighter stars working in the land of movie magic today. Synching up beautifully with the performance given by Isaac is the downright incredible one provided by Jessica Chastain as Abel’s wife Anna. Indeed, as presented to us by Chastain, Anna is a determined and fierce individual who has no qualms about defending either her family, the company, or both by any means necessary. Yet, unlike other characters of a similar ilk in other movies, we see that Chastain also does a wonderful job of making sure to present Anna with moments where she does show that, despite her tough as nails demeanor, she can be a human being at moments thus making for a wonderfully complex performance that should have got her an Oscar nod. Alongside the electrifying work done here by both Isaac and Chastain, this slice of cinema also contains a genuinely riveting turn from David Oyelowo as Assistant D.A. Lawrence. No it’s not the biggest part in the movie, but even so Oyelowo does a terrific job at giving us a thorn in the side of the main character that is delightfully hiss-worthy in the best way possible. Lastly, I definitely feel that this section of this review would be completely amiss if I didn’t take some to praise the work done here by screen icon Albert Brooks in the role of Abel’s lawyer/dear friend/quasi-sorta devil on his shoulder Andrew Walsh. Yes I know Brooks is known mostly for either his comedic works from the 80s/90s and/or his vocal performance as a fish named Marlin, but there is also no denying that the man has also showcased a flair for being just as great in more dramatic efforts like in 1976’s Taxi Driver or 2011’s Drive. It is in that latter category that we find his turn in this as we see that Brooks does a marvelous job at playing a guy who genuinely cares about his client and is 110% loyal to him through and through yet also has no qualms about being the affable pragmatist with a hint of a dark side to his client’s optimistic in this situation he has found himself in right down to recommending to him that maybe arming his drivers to protect themselves might not be the worst idea in the world. Indeed it’s a very complex turn and one that Brooks is able to sink his hooks into and make the most of in every minute of screentime that he is given. Suffice it to say that when you also throw into this blend effective performances from such talents as Alessandro Nivola, Robert Clohessy, Christopher Abbott, Jerry Adler, and Glenn Fleshler among others it’s clear that there might be some miniscule issues with this film, but the work done by this talented cast most assuredly is not one of them.
All in all and at the end of the day is A Most Violent Year a perfect entry in the crime drama genre of movie magic? No, but darn it all if it doesn’t come closer than most. With that in mind, does this make this the worst crime drama since 2004’s Never Die Alone or 1986’s uber-sleazy 8 Million Ways to Die? Thankfully, that is most certainly not the case though I must admit that there is a part of me that, perhaps because I watched it a fair number of times more than I *arguably* should have whilst growing up, does have a wee bit of a soft spot for the latter example. Nostalgic observations aside, there is no denying that A Most Violent Year will most assuredly not be everybody’s distinct cinematic blend of preference. This is because, unlike most examples of this genre, there is not much in the way of guns blazing, riveting action beats, or even blood being spilt to name but a few of the more time-honored elements that an entry in this genre might contain. Instead, what we are given here is a gradually intensifying slice of cinema that makes its primary focus not only the world in which the story is being told to us, but also on the riveting chain of events taking place in that world to say nothing of the extremely well-written and phenomenally-performed cast of characters who are all participants in some way or another in those events respectively. When looking at this slice of cinema through that distinct perspective, there is no denying just how remarkable it truly is. Indeed the early 80s era that the story occurs in not only makes sense if you know anything about New York City in 1981 (hint hint: it was not a crime-free time by any stretch of the imagination), but is also brilliantly conjured up for us whilst the chilled and frigid colors and shades on display definitely aid in conveying the right overall mood for the film. On top of that, the rest of the work done behind the camera here is pure cinematic magic at its finest, the dialogue is brilliant as well as razor-edged, and (in terms of in front of the camera work) the collection of performances given by this film’s impeccably chosen and undeniably talented cast of players all manage to be a applause-worthy blend of both on point as well as assertive and in control right from frame one. Best of all for this writer though is the fact that not only was I hooked on the narrative right off the bat, but also that whilst there may be those who see how the story is regaled to movie goers as frustratingly too lackadaisical for its own good, I saw it as a fairly novel and quite distinct approach. Suffice it to say then that it might have its issues here and there, but at the end of the day there is no denying that A Most Violent Year is definitely one vibrant and direct character-rooted crime drama that, for the right audience, should leave them hooked from beginning to end and every minute in between. Make of that what thou will. On a scale of 1-5 I give A Most Violent Year a solid 4 out of 5.
