charlesem
In a movie that might have been called "Do the Most Right Thing," Oscar Isaac plays yet another ethically challenged protagonist. Abel Morales is not as cranky as Llewyn Davis or as politically savvy as Nick Wasicsko, the beleaguered Yonkers mayor of the 2015 HBO series Show Me a Hero, but he's another little guy who deserves better than the forces opposed to him will allow. He's no moral paragon: He couldn't have built a successful heating oil company in New York City without bending a few of the rules -- and without the help of his less-scrupulous wife, Anna (Jessica Chastain). It's 1981, and Morales is on the brink of a big deal, purchasing property on the East River that will enable him to eliminate some of the middlemen in the business. But then everything starts going awry: His trucks are being hijacked and the district attorney (David Oyelowo) has decided to make him a target in his exposé of corrupt practices in the heating oil business. It's a gritty urban tale, the kind that the movies haven't seen much of lately, demanding an audience that doesn't demand a lot of glamour and knows how to wait patiently for things to unfold. J.C. Chandor, who wrote the screenplay, resists the temptation to reveal too much too swiftly, building a quiet tension as we begin to bring the story into focus. He also handles action well, as the title suggests, although much of the violence is latent. Best of all, he showcases some fine performances, not only from Isaac and Chastain and Oyelowo, but also from Albert Brooks as Morales's attorney, Elyes Gabel as one of the victimized truck drivers, and Alessandro Nivola as one of Morales's mobbed-up competitors. There are moments when the script's depiction of Morales's determination to go as straight as possible seems a little too much like forcing him into the good-guy role, and the climax is too melodramatic, but on the whole it's a solid movie. (charlesmatthews.blogspot.com)
LiquidPoetry1921
The title alone instantly makes one think this movie is going to be thrilling. Throw in Oscar Issac, Jessica Chastain and David Oyelowo and it kicks your anticipation into high gear. That's why when the credits are rolling you feel incredibly duped and want the last two hours and five minutes of your life back!The premise? Abel Morales (Issac) is the owner of an up-and-coming heating oil company in NYC 1991, which has recently suffered the hijacking of several trucks. One driver, Julian (Elyes Gabel) is severely beaten by one of the hijackers. Abel's wife, Anna (Chastain) implores him to fight violence with violence, but he refuses. The head of the local Teamsters tells him to arm his driver's with guns for protection, but he again refuses. In addition, Abel is seeking to expand his business by purchasing a fuel oil terminal on the East River but is having a problem obtaining financing for the $1.5M deal. And somewhere in this convoluted mess is Assistant District Attorney Lawrence (Oyelowo) who is going after the entire local heating oil business for price fixing, tax evasion, etc. If my summation was disjointed, I completely agree ~ as disjointed as this movie was. Aside from Julian having a shootout in the middle of the Queensboro Bridge in the middle of the day (no...really), and Abel punching a hijacker he caught up to after a foot chase, that was about as violent as 'A Most Violent Year' ever got. Gave the movie a generous 3* out of 10...probably because I felt sorry that these great actors were wasted on this 2014 stinker.
paul2001sw-1
Viewers who watched J.C. Chandor's thoughtful 'Margin Call', about the 2008 financial crisis, will see some of the same strengths in 'A Most Violent Year', whose subject is the efforts of a businessman to stay afloat in the winter of 1981. But the setup here is not entirely satisfactory: the hero is good looking, has made enough money to be able to take "I like to own what I use" as a guiding principle, is the last honest man in New York, and even briefly turns action hero to track down those who are stealing from him. Even the basic premise of the plot is a little contrived: to win a deal, he offers terms which leave him exposed to all of the risk (and needless to say, some of that risk duly materialises). The film hints at the possibility that he might not be as straight as he professes (or even believes); but ultimately, shies away from this position. Instead, the film asks us to respect a man whose goal is to drive his rivals out of business, because he plans to do so through his own innate excellence. We do see hints of his single-mindedness that are unappealing; but the film refrains from passing harsh judgement. The perfection of the character somewhat undermined my interest in what is basically a very well-constructed film.
bob the moo
I think everyone has probably pointed out already that the title is misleading, particularly as this film would appear to be a gangster film. The plot sees someone making moves within the oil business and trying to keep his own moral sensibility while all the time surrounded by corruption and violence from others in the business; the title refers to the year the film is set – which happened to be the most violent year in the history of New York crime.Like many, this did mislead me somewhat, and perhaps this is why I did have some big reservations about the film. In truth the film is actually not a million miles away from the previous film from the same director – All is Lost. In that film a man finds himself all at sea, trying to survive in whatever ways he can come up with. In the same way this film sees Abel caught in a storm and trying to stay alive while also stay himself. Since this character is not wanting to be a gangster, this does mean the film is mostly men talking low with a sense of violence but mostly not. The very slow pace of the film combines with this to make it a little bit of work to go with it – and I am not entirely sure that the slow pace pays off as an approach.What helps it though is that the film is intriguingly written as it relates to the character at its core. Abel is an interesting conflict of aims and realities, and he is very well played by Isaac; an actor growing on me. He plays it subtly for the most part and is the engaging core of the film. Indeed it is a very actor-y film, as it gives good material to all the main cast (Chastain, Brooks, Oyelowo) although the narrative is not quite as compelling as it may have been delivered. Throughout it is professionally made, and Chandor holds the tone well. In the end it is the misleading suggestion of the title which hurts the film because if you go into it because you really loved 'All is Lost' then I imagine you will like this as it does a lot of the same things just as well, albeit differently.
AD
