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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