Four stars. Rated R, for profanity and violence
By Derrick Bang
Writer/director J.C. Chandor
burst on the scene with 2011’s riveting Margin Call, a fictionalized depiction of how one Wall Street investment firm —
Lehman Brothers, in all but name — likely kick-started the 2008 U.S. financial
crisis. Although primarily a talking-heads discussion among analysts looking to
save their own careers, the dialogue and character interaction unfolded with
the crisp intensity of a David Mamet play: in other words, not the slightest
bit boring.
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| As things begin, Abel (Oscar Isaac) and his wife, Anna (Jessica Chastain), are full of optimism about a waterfront property deal that will help expand their heating-oil business. But life — and organized crime — are about to throw several nasty barriers in their way, testing Abel's integrity to the limit. |
Chandor obviously enjoys the
challenge of creating and then dissecting characters under pressure, and in A Most Violent Year he has found another
grim “historical moment” in which to build and populate a drama undoubtedly
typical of the time and place. And if his new film lacks the razor’s-edge focus
and intensity of Margin Call, it
nonetheless belongs in the worthy company of thoughtful organized crime dramas
such as the Godfather trilogy and Once Upon a Time in America.
Indeed, watching Chandor’s new
film, I frequently was reminded of Al Pacino’s iconic line from Godfather 3: “Just when I thought I was
out ... they pull me back in.”
Except that Violent Year’s Abel Morales is trying desperately to remain out in the first place, as events
conspire to make that impossible.
The story takes place during a
single winter month in 1981 New York: a time when Big Apple mayhem had hit
ghastly levels, between gang killings, mob family violence, record-breaking
robberies, vandalized subway cars and all manner of street crime. Chandor’s
characters never stray too far from a radio during the course of his film, and
the constant litany of reported murders and vicious misconduct becomes something
of a sidebar soundtrack to Alex Ebert’s somber orchestral score.
Against this grim backdrop, we
meet Abel (Oscar Isaac) en route to the most important financial transaction of
his career: a negotiation to buy some waterfront property that would significant
boost the long-term growth of his fledgling heating-oil business. He gets the
deal, but it comes with a daunting kicker: This down payment must be followed
by the full balance within 30 days, no extensions, or the arrangement is off
... and the initial deposit forfeited.
Sadly, Abel already is in
trouble; his trucks have been getting hijacked brazenly, in broad daylight and
on busy city streets, by gun-toting thugs who beat up the defenseless drivers.
The union boss wants the drivers armed, even if illegally; Abel, angrily
defending the “kinder, gentler, better” image that he has worked hard to
create, refuses.
