Forgotten film Friday: A Most Violent Year

A review by Brooks Rich

What does it take to be successful? How much is your soul worth? When is doing the right thing no longer worth it? Those are the questions at the heart of JC Chandor's deeply underrated 2014 film A Most Violent Year.

Oscar Isaac plays Abel Morales, the head of a heating and oil company in New York City circa 1981. His business is struggling as his trucks keep getting hijacked and the DA's office is working on an indictment against him. Abel faces pressure to arm his drivers to protect his shipments but he doesn't want that to be the way he does business. It all comes to a head as Abel questions what makes a good man and how far one can do the right thing.

Oscar Isaac is one of the best new actors to come out of the past decade and this is one of his best performances. He perfectly captures the turmoil of Abel Morales as he struggles to do what's right, even if the alternative is an easier solution. The film asks the question, how much does it cost to do the right thing? How long can someone go before they choose what's wrong? Morales tries to remain the righteous person he knows he is as long as he can.

JC Chandor is a fascinating filmmaker and all his films are worth watching. I personally think All Is Lost is his best movie but this is easily his second best. I love the morale dilemma at play in the film and I love Chandor's direction in this. He almost has a detached eye, giving the film a gritty non-judgmental look. Like all of Chandor's films, this feels real.

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