Review: JC Chandor's 'A Most Violent Year' starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain

There are many different ways a person can be tested, but not all of them make for good movies. With only three movies to his credit, J.C. Chandor has taken audiences through three very different fights for survival, each more gripping than the last. Margin Call, for which he earned an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay, took us through an intense economic meltdown; All is Lost depicted a physical battle for survival against Mother Nature. Chandor's latest, the gripping crime-thriller A Most Violent Year is his most perceptive yet and looks at one man's quest to achieve the American Dream while enduring the moral pitfalls at every turn.

A Most Violent Year is something of a cross between The Godfather and Macbeth; it's about power, the corrupting influence of it and the constant need to attain more of it. But the film is also about the choices made along the way. Does having power matter if the road to getting it is littered with moral and ethical compromises? Oscar Isaac, looking more like a young Al Pacino than ever before, plays Abel Morales, a heating oil magnate in 1981 New York. It's the most violent year in the city's record and Abel is dealing with a dilemma. He's just put down a hefty deposit for a prime piece of land that will completely evolve his business, but the balance must be paid within 30 days or the deal is off and the down payment lost. However his trucks are being hijacked at an increasing clip and the drivers are looking to arm themselves, which would be illegal. Oh, and the District Attorney (David Oyelowo) is in the midst of dogged investigation into the business for possible violations.

Making for a fiery, well-dressed instigator is his wife, Anna (Jessica Chastain), the daughter of a mob boss who happens to be the business' original owner. She has her husband's back through thick and thin but she's got a dangerous edge that he simply doesn't. She's her father's daughter, that's for sure, and is willing to cross boundaries that Abel won't. As his pride clashes with her ambition the sparks ignite in unexpectedly gripping ways without fully crossing over into a murderous gangster movie. While there are brief bursts of violence you keep waiting for some kind of turf war to erupt but that never happens. Chandor instead thrills us with the choices his characters make and the implications of them. When Anna breaks out a gun for the first time we know it's going to be trouble. When hijackers seem to be targeting a weak-willed driver (Elyes Gamble) it turns into a situation that could destroy everything Abel has built. And through all of this Chandor keeps the tension on a slow boil, feeding us just enough action to keep us on the edge of our seats. A close-quarters shoot-out in the city streets followed by a dangerous foot race into the bowels of the city pay off in spades. Not every subplot pays off as satisfactorily as they could as Chandor tries to juggle a bit too much for everything to wrap up neatly.

After only dealing with Robert Redford in All is Lost, Chandor has gathered a superb and very large ensemble for A Most Violent Year. Isaac can add another must-see performance to his impressive resume as the calculating, simmering Abel. Chastain gets the flashiest role and the flashiest outfits as Anna, nailing a Brooklyn accent and Brooklyn swagger like a pro. Albert Brooks, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Oyelowo all bring their A-game to the table as Chandor proves again how good he is at pulling forth the best from his stars. Meanwhile cinematographer Bradford Young evokes the gritty street-level feel of early Martin Scorsese and Sydney Lumet, which when paired with Chandor's sharp screenplay makes A Most Violent Year one of the best crime movies in recent memory. Ultimately it's a film about doing whatever it takes to survive without losing one's sense of self in the process. They don't make movies like this much anymore when they used to be commonplace. A Most Violent Year is truly a rare breed.

 Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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New Trailer and Poster for 'A Most Violent Year' starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain

There are only a handful of directors that we look upon their every release as an event. J.C. Chandor has quickly achieved that status after only three movies: Margin Call, All is Lost, and his latest, A Most Violent Year, a 1980s-set drama starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain. A new full-length trailer for the film has been released, backed by the smooth sounds of Marvin Gaye, and it looks like another beautiful, bold effort from Chandor. Isaac and Chastain star as an immigrant couple trying to run an honest business while surrounded by corrupt forces during the most violent year in New York City history.

Also starring Albert Brooks, David Oyelowo, and Alessandro Nivola, A Most Violent Year opens December 31st.


A Most Violent Year TRAILER 1 (2014) - Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain Crime Drama HD by MovieTrailerz

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First Trailer for J.C. Chandor's 'A Most Violent Year' starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain

It hasn't taken J.C. Chandor long to establish himself as a consistent presence in the Academy Awards field. His first film Margin Call earned him a screenwriting nomination, while his follow-up All is Lost deserved more than the measly Sound Editing nomination it got. Judging by the incredible trailer for his third film, A Most Violent Year, Chandor may again be earning accolades.

Starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain, no stranger to the Oscars themselves, the story takes place in 1981, one of the most violent years in New York City history, and follows an immigrant couple as they try to expand their business in that environment. It looks like the kind of film built for honors, both on the directing and acting side, plus the cinematography by Bradford Young (Mother of George, Ain't Them Bodies Saints) is simply gorgeous.

Also starring Albert Brooks, Ashley Williams, Alessandro Nivola, David Oyelowo, and Catalina Sandino Moreno, A Most Violent Year opens in limited release on December 31st, expanding in 2015.

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J.C. Chandor to Direct 'Deepwater Horizon'; Darren Lynn Bousman Helms 'Apex'

J.C. Chandor's last film, the deep sea survival film All is Lost, may have been left out of the Best Picture race and its star Robert Redford out of the Best Actor category (unjustly in both cases) but he's still one of the most promising directors around. He burst on the scene with financial world thriller Margin Call, with his screenplay earning an Oscar nom, and his next project A Most Violent Year is looking like a contender for this fall. And now Chandor is hitting the waters one more time for a hot button film on the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Chandor is set to direct Deepwater Horizon, which as you probably guessed has to do with the 2010 oil rig explosion that killed eleven workers and was one of the worst spills in United States history, causing environmental damage still felt today. The New York Times' Christmas 2010 article by David Barstow, David Rhode, and Stephanie Sau will serve as the basis for the story, with Matthew Michael Carnahan (World War Z) providing the most script. Although not mentioned it would be surprising if Chandor doesn't take a crack at rewriting it. The film won't go into all of the behind-the-scenes politics (like Halliburton's involvement) of the disaster but will center on the 100 employees on the rig when it exploded. If all comes together Chandor will begin shooting this winter. Summit Entertainment has been developing this project for awhile, once eying Ric Roman Waugh (Snitch) as director.  [Deadline]

And on to something completely different, horror director Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, Mother's Day) will take the helm for Apex, a sci-fi action flick some are saying is like Predator meets Call of Duty. Penned by James E. Cavanaugh, the story centers on a Special Ops unit sent in to disarm a WMD from North Korea and are transported to another world. There they are pitted against a dangerous alien threat. [THR]

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J.C. Chandor Tackles Vince Lombardi Biopic; Lines up Oscar Isaac for 'A Most Violent Year'

Through his first two features, Margin Call and All is Lost, J.C. Chandor has stayed in the thick of the Oscars chatter, and it's looking like his upcoming features will garner just as much attention. There are some major changes at the top of his third movie, A Most Violent Year, and now Chandor has lined up his fourth project, a biopic based on a pro football legend.

First up is A Most Violent Year, which had Javier Bardem and Jessica Chastain leading the film set in 1981, one of the most violent on record. Some months ago Bardem dropped out over creative differences with Chandor, but now he's made a lateral move by bringing on Oscar Isaac, who is currently riding a wave of awards buzz for Inside Llewyn Davis. Isaac will play "the ambitious owner of an oil company who must protect his business and his family from his competitors as they violently try to run him out of business. The film finds him and his wife crossing paths with high-powered lawyers, wealthy bankers, dangerous teamsters and a shady district attorney." Chandor's Margin Call co-star Stanley Tucci is also being courted for a role.

After scoring on the Jackie Robinson biopic 42, Legendary Pictures is turning their attention to the gridiron. They're planning a film on NFL Hall of Fame head coach Vince Lombardi, with Chandor hired to pen the screenplay and possibly direct. Lombardi's name adorns the Super Bowl trophy, so that should tell you just how important he was to the sport, far more than just leading the Green Bay Packers to five world championships.

The Lombardi estate is lending their full support behind the project, which hopefully means we'll get a full look at the man on and off the field. He was one of the first NFL coaches to ignore the color barriers and had a zero tolerance policy towards racism amongst his players. After starting out as an offensive coordinator with the New York Giants in 1954, he took the Packers head coaching job in 1959 when the franchise squad was at its absolute worst. Over the course of his coaching career Lombardi never had a losing season.

Now there's the unenviable job of finding an actor to play Lombardi. Perhaps Robert De Niro? Or maybe Chandor can reteam with Robert Redford? [THR/TheWrap/Deadline]

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Review: 'All Is Lost' Starring Robert Redford

After J.C. Chandor's talky financial world drama Margin Call, for which his screenplay earned an Oscar nomination, one would have been excused for thinking that was the course his career would continue to take. He'd be another of many filmmakers who are perhaps better writers than purveyors of visual artistry, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him helm an HBO political film or something as his sophomore effort. But for his sophomore effort, the rigorous high-seas survival thriller All Is Lost, Chandor shows he's a true cinematic chameleon in every sense of the word, right up there with the unpredictable Danny Boyle. And in the process helps the great Robert Redford deliver one of the finest performances of his storied career.

Burning with a young man's vigor and stripped bare of every ounce of celebrity, Redford commands the screen and drags us into the watery ordeal with him, leaving us adrift in the midst of his unnamed character's existential crisis. Other than a few words of dialogue, read from a poignant note he's writing in the very beginning, we learn very little about Redford's character. We see a wedding band on his finger, but that's about all we can surmise. He could be anyone; a regular guy who we know has deep regrets about some mistake from his past, and at the pit of an obvious despair makes one final desperate attempt to address those wrongs.

We're then thrust eight days into the past, when a random shipping container carrying loads of sneakers has collided with his boat, a recreational vessel he clearly uses as an escape from the rest of the world. As such, he's all alone as the decks begin to take on water at a rapid clip. Initially it's unclear just how much nautical experience he has, but over time we come to realize he's a smart, intuitive jack-of-all-trades. Whether that's enough to survive what quickly escalates into a very real life-or-death situation is another story altogether.

But don't get it into your head that this is just another film where one man overcomes the odds and battles Mother Nature in a true triumph of the human spirit. There are elements of that, sure, but mainly this is a concise, rather simple story about loneliness and the fear of dying. All Is Lost makes for a perfect companion piece to Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity in that way, and covers much of the same emotional territory just as effectively. The visceral sense of helplessness and yes, even weightlessness, are evoked brilliantly by Chandor as Redford's character is frequently thrown about the ship's cabin, tossing and turning in unfathomable angles at the full mercy of the ocean's wrath, all while trapped in its vast emptiness. Chandor's ability to capture the overwhelming power and terror of the seas is something to behold, adding an incredible sense of urgency behind every moment.

That immediacy is needed because much of what Redford's character actually does can be considered mundane. Attempting to fix the ship's communications; patching up the hole in the hull; and gathering his most precious items aren't exactly exciting, but they reveal a man of great wisdom and preparedness. Redford projects these qualities effortlessly, both in look and demeanor, without need of uttering a word other than the occasional grunt and expletive. The physical demands increase as the story grows darker and more ominous, and Redford is more than up to the challenge. Chandor wisely refrains from giving in to typical thriller tropes, allowing the creaky sounds of buckling wood and crashing waves to ratchet up the tension to uncomfortable levels. Such a high level of realism is attained that it makes the few unbelievable occurrences stand out a little more, in particular a conclusion that doesn't quite gel with the tone Chandor had painstakingly established. Regardless, this is brilliant, evocative filmmaking that Chandor makes look extremely simple in execution, and one can only imagine what he'll do to try and top it.

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Robert Redford is Lost at Sea in Trailer for 'All Is Lost'

Embarking on an exciting new path in his storied career, Robert Redford seems to be challenging himself in ways few would predict. Earlier this year he gave us the taut political thriller The Company You Keep, and he'll be venturing into the world of superheroes for the first time in Marvel's Captain America sequel. But one film that critics are still buzzing about months after Cannes is All Is Lost, hailed for its sheer intensity and Redford's commanding solo performance. A clip hit the web awhile back that gave us a look at just how harrowing the film would be, but the new trailer suggests it could be even more gripping.

Featuring almost no dialogue, the trailer relies on the stunning visuals capturing the power of Mother Nature's fury to do all of the talking. Redford is a man lost at sea and battling the elements aboard his sinking ship. As the incredibly tense footage shows, things go from bad to worse as a storm rages, sharks begin circling, and Redford is forced to rely on his own wits and survival instinct to survive.

Remarkably, this comes from director J.C. Chandor, who gave us the economic crisis film Margin Call.  As Redford continues to push himself in new directions, it's just as fascinating to see a young filmmaker like Chandor doing the same. All Is Lost opens on October 18th.

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Javier Bardem Lines Up 'The Gunman' and 'A Most Violent Year'

Whether he's a hero (rare, but it happens) or a villain, Javier Bardem is one of the most compelling actors around, which is why he's been a very busy guy of late. He was just seen in Terrence Malick's To the Wonder, or not seen if you nearly dozed off like I did. He also filmed Ridley Scott's The Counselor, and of course there was that whole Skyfall thing which made a little bit of money somewhere.  After all of that, Bardem isn't slowing down, adding two more projects to his calendar.

First up, Bardem will join Sean Penn in The Gunman, an adaptation of Jean-Patrick Manchette's novel, The Prone Gunman. The script by Peter Travis (Dredd) has Penn as hired killer Martin Terrier, who wants to leave the business and marry his sweetheart, but his old bosses won't let him go, forcing him to go on the run where he is confronted by Bardem. Pierre Morel (Taken) is behind the camera for that one, so the results are a little tough to predict.

This fall Bardem will star in A Most Violent Year, the next film from Margin Call director, J.C. Chandor. There are absolutely no details on what it could entail, but Bardem will apparently be the "good guy". The film was announced at Cannes, where Chandor and Robert Redford's All is Lost was the surprise hit of the festival. [Deadline]

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First clip from J.C. Chandor's 'All Is Lost' starring Robert Redford

Here's the interesting thing about film festivals, especially the big ones like Cannes, when you're not actually there to attend it: You pretty much know right away whether a film has won or failed. For instance, when Nicolas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling's Only God Forgives got booed mercilessly by the Croisette crowd, it spread all over the Internets like a rash in a matter of minutes. At the same time, when a film that nobody was expecting much from turns out to be the surprise hit of the show....well, it can be the kind of boost that catapults it to future glory.

Such is the case with All Is Lost, the follow-up feature from J.C. Chandor, who burst onto the scene a couple of years ago with his economic crisis flick, Margin Call. The film earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay, and Chandor decided his next move was to do a complete 180 and tell a story of human survival featuring a screen legend and practically no dialogue. Robert Redford, who at the age of 76 is performing most of his own stunts, plays a man on a solo voyage who wakes to discover his yacht taking on water in the middle of the Indian Ocean. As he works to fix the damage and repair the radio, a violent storm approaches and he must do whatever he can to survive the assault.

The first clip has been released, and if anything it shows that this isn't going to be just another Cast Away. Redford's character is silently working atop the ship's mast, while the storm looms ominously in the distance. Look for All Is Lost to hit theaters on October 25th.

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J.C. Chandor gets Robert Redford for his next film, 'All is Lost'

One of the few disappointments I've had this awards season is that I completely missed out on Margin Call, J.C. Chandor's star-studded flick on the financial crisis. Even though it had gained some traction during it's festival run, most of the talk I'd heard had been mixed, so I skipped out on the screening. And then what happens? Margin Call starts getting mentioned for awards recognition. What the heck? I won't make the same mistake with Chandor's next film, a man vs. nature tale titled All is Lost.

Deadline reports that Robert Redford is set to star, adding to what has been a serious upsurge in activity for the veteran actor. The film is being described as mostly a one-man show set out on the water, which immediately has me thinking Cast Away. Production is being eyed for Baja Film Studios in Mexico, the site where Michael Bay shot a good deal of Pearl Harbor.

Shooting could possibly kick off next May, which should give Redford time to complete his political fugitive thriller, The Company You Keep.

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