Review #858: 'A Most Violent Year' (2014)

Set in New York during 1981, the year in which the city recorded its highest crime rate, A Most Violent Year evokes the American cinema of the 1970's - brutally unsentimental and strictly character-driven. There are no sweeping shots of Times Square or children playing in water squirting from a busted fire hydrant; this is snowy and industrial, and slower and more thoughtful than it's rather shoddy title suggests. It's also bolstered by some impressive performances, with lead Oscar Isaac continuing his recent star-making yet modest run of late, again proving that he is Lon Chaney's natural successor to the 'man of a thousand faces' tag with another chameleon-esque performance.

Yet the slow pace and brooding intensity doesn't quite deliver towards the end, offering a predictable and easy resolution compared to the memorable finale I was expecting. Isaac plays immigrant Abel Morales, who is Abel in both name and execution, riding high on the top of a newly-built oil company while his murky competitors snarl at his success. With corruption infesting the entire city from every corner, Assistant District Attorney Lawrence (David Oyelowo) is breathing down his neck, only Abel is trying his best to keep on the straight and narrow. The father of his wife, Anna (Jessica Chastain), belonged to a different generation, one that succeeded through violence and intimidation, exactly the kind of reputation Abel is trying to shake.

In a bit to surpass his competitors, Abel and his lawyer Andrew Walsh (Albert Brooks) strike a deal with a group of Jewish Hasidim to purchase land that will allow him to ship in his product directly from the dock. He is given a week to honour the contract and pay a hefty sum, and the land is his. Only his competitors have different ideas, and Abel suspects one, or all, of them are behind the recent truck hijackings that have left his drivers, namely fellow immigrant Julian (Elyes Gabel), shook up. The union are soon on his back to arm his employees so they may have a better chance at defending themselves, but Abel wants no blood on his hands. With pressure coming from the D.A., his rivals, the Teamsters and his wife, Abel must survive the week before his empire crumbles.

With its dialogue-heavy meetings in barber shops and warehouses and the sight of Isaac in a huge camel-hair coat, comparisons to classics gangster films, notably The Godfather (1972), are obvious. But this is a study of business, and the film comes alive with a hushed conversation more than it does with its sporadic bursts of violence. Technically, it's tightly-controlled and immaculate, with director J.C. Chandor wisely choosing not to score the film with 80's synth and give everyone a mullet, but instead preferring a more lived-in feel. However, too often does the story seem unbelievable and contradictory for such a polished film, faltering at the pay-off when the build-up suggested something special. If I gave half-stars in my review ratings then this would certainly earn itself one, but it will have to settle for 3 out of 5 for now.


Directed by: J.C. Chandor
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo, Alessandro Nivola, Albert Brooks, Elyes Gabel
Country: USA/United Arab Emirates

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie