I’ve been trying to finish up on my “must watch” list of 2014 so I can put together my top films of 2014 post. Every year, the studios dump tons of cool and interesting films right into December in very limited release and it’s near impossible to keep up with all of them or see most of them until well into the next year. They do this for Oscar qualifications but it makes it hard to put together a best of the year list when I haven’t seen several of the supposedly Oscar-worthy films yet.
A Most Violent Year was one that got a very limited release and only now did I have a chance to see and for the most part, it was worth the wait. What really works here is the acting, especially Oscar Isaac who carries the entire film. He’s a force in this, a powerful presence that kept my attention in every scene he’s in. The writing is great, with conflict appearing around every corner, things getting worse and worse for the main character, and a nice character arc at the end. Jessica Chastain is great here as well. The cinematography is especially gorgeous here.
Actually, this has a lot of the “feel” of The Godfather. The wardrobe looks like it is straight out of Goodfellas (that’s a good thing), and there’s a lot of Mean Streets in the vibe as well. Some reviewers on IMDB thought this was boring. Wrong. I was never bored once. I cared about the characters and was interested in the mystery they were solving and how they would get out of the tough situations they were placed in. Recommended for anyone that likes strong character dramas.