A Most Violent Year

"The script was well written, with a tension and sincerity that is rare. With tighter editing and character development, it could have been much better."

The underworld of heating oil during the 1980’s in New York. This is about an owner of an oil company (Oscar Isaac–excellent actor), who makes a big move on a property, but then has surrounding events start to jeopardize his future. It is a different movie than you may imagine it to be; “A Most Violent Year”–Mobster tale? The movie title is very misleading. There is some violence in this movie, but as a whole, the characters try to avoid the violence. The scenes here are never excessive or graphic. This is really just this man trying to run his company, and you are watching him gradually get in over his head. All the pieces of this work well in a smartly put together film. It is set in the 80’s, but does not reek of it. Not a 100% a crime move, but it hits all of those beats. Good movie but not a great movie. The problem with this film was the pacing. The script was well written, with a tension and sincerity that is rare. With tighter editing and character development, it could have been much better. 3.5 stars for me.

Reviewed by: on June 23, 2015