A Most Violent Year

A24 | Release Date: December 31, 2014

7.0	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 217 Ratings

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User Reviews

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LynMay 4, 2015

This is a very well-acted film in which most of the (potential) action simmers below the surface. Not much happens, though. Jessica Chastain is stellar as always and Oscar Isaac is riveting ... it's a gritty, grimy set piece about gritty,This is a very well-acted film in which most of the (potential) action simmers below the surface. Not much happens, though. Jessica Chastain is stellar as always and Oscar Isaac is riveting ... it's a gritty, grimy set piece about gritty, grimy goings-on in the NYC of a few decades ago, but I would have liked more of a payoff.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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NRNSWJul 4, 2015

Overall, this movie was good although it had a couple of parts that should have made it to the cutting room floor. Am not generally a fan of the look of this movie (yellowish filter) and it didn't add much to it. OK, but could have been better.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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hotfromcauldronJan 3, 2015

A Most Violent Year comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb as oil truckers brave deliveries -like stage coach drivers of ye old wild west -in New York's lawless five boroughs. Solid perfs - Chastain brings a new 'reality' to mob wivesA Most Violent Year comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb as oil truckers brave deliveries -like stage coach drivers of ye old wild west -in New York's lawless five boroughs. Solid perfs - Chastain brings a new 'reality' to mob wives as Isaac simmers as her husband desperate to stay a goodfella against all odds - can't make this good film great which idles and lunges then sputters towards a mediocre third act.… Expand

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

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csw12Jan 14, 2015

Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain do their best to make for an intense movie and at times they succeed but the story is just too thin to feel the intensity throughout its long 2 hour length.

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

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halcbJan 31, 2015

Wow, a major disappointment. The pacing was simply way too slow and the storyline way too thin (and the characters not particularly sympathetic) for it to receive such glowing reviews. Well acted and directed, definitely, with a few trulyWow, a major disappointment. The pacing was simply way too slow and the storyline way too thin (and the characters not particularly sympathetic) for it to receive such glowing reviews. Well acted and directed, definitely, with a few truly exciting, tension-building scenes. But overall just not that compelling. Don't understand why so many give this very good to excellent reviews. A real snoozer, when all is said and done.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

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TVJerryFeb 5, 2015

The titular year is 1981 in New York City. The owner of a fuel oil company and his wife (Oscar Issac and Jessica Chastain) struggle to grow their business, despite violent attacks on their trucks and an impending investigation. His lofty planThe titular year is 1981 in New York City. The owner of a fuel oil company and his wife (Oscar Issac and Jessica Chastain) struggle to grow their business, despite violent attacks on their trucks and an impending investigation. His lofty plan is to maintain his principles in the process, a conflict that dominates the dialogue. The movie takes itself very seriously and so do the actors. While their performances are so passionate, the sluggish pace slows the momentum. The dark cinematography is more murky than noir. Then there's the writing, which lays out the plotting in many predictable beats. What looks to be a hard-hitting crime actioner turns out to be an interesting, but not especially compelling character drama.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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namelessFeb 1, 2015

Plodding at times. It just doesn't hang together. The acting is first rate, the writing is interesting but the pacing just goes along. Watch on DVD so you can fast forward because it is more an character study... a morality play.

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

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jeffrwJan 6, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This film is a visual delight for people who fondly remember the New York-based movies of the 1970's and early 80's -- "French Connection" comes to mind. In the end, though, the story is too weak to make a great film. The film's protagonist, Abel Morales, runs a heating oil company. He wants to buy a derelict oil container port on the East River and refurbish it so he can import more oil at a lower price. This is an eminently sensible, legal, and unexciting business goal. The writer-director J. C. Chandor wants to make a thriller about corruption and venality in the heating oil business of 1980s NYC, but it's all so vague it's hard to get worked up about people engaged in a fundamentally worthwhile business: warming homes in winter. In the end Morales' wife saves the day with a deus ex machina: she has been "skimming" money off the company's books into a rainy day fund -- money that they can now use to buy the container port. Abel is horrified at this accounting trickery. Except, how is it a problem that a company saves money to achieve a legitimate business goal? Maybe there's some kind of tax issue. Who knows, the film never follows up on the issue and anyway in the very next scene Abel tells his wife "You know what, let's use that cash." So much for moral dilemma.

Great style, limited substance.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

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nicholasbertMar 31, 2015

A misleading title, but overall a good story with some setting we seldom see. Carrying the weight of a potentially heavy movie is Oscar Isaac, who credibly portrays a rising tycoon (although he pretty much makes one facial expression theA misleading title, but overall a good story with some setting we seldom see. Carrying the weight of a potentially heavy movie is Oscar Isaac, who credibly portrays a rising tycoon (although he pretty much makes one facial expression the whole movie).
In an editing sense, the movie is made at the same pace it would have been if this were really 1981, convincing only at times and having some scenes drag out a bit more than they should. In a writing sense, it faults somewhere, with Abel's moral dilemma being unrealistically naive and a preposterous number of "I know"s in the script. Some other things are pushed as well: the Jewish business, for instance, and the "nice" bankers and police. However, the grey and wintry New York background helps establish a feeling of uneasiness and anxiety throughout, probably reflecting Abel's preoccupations.

Maybe the plot could do with some more covering, because at times it introduces elements and never concludes them (for instance the iffy role of Abel's lawyer). But, as far as the rest goes (cinematography, story, acting, etc.) A Most Violent Year is a good film. Not a must-watch, but still in the 90 percentile of 2014 as far as big releases went.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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Mike_MJan 3, 2015

Pros: well-acted, subtle, simmering, never melodramatic. For a crime story set in 1981 NY, it sure doesn't come off as cliche.

Con: it's a little slight or shruggable. This is the type of nuanced story (a guy tries to keep his nose cleanPros: well-acted, subtle, simmering, never melodramatic. For a crime story set in 1981 NY, it sure doesn't come off as cliche.

Con: it's a little slight or shruggable. This is the type of nuanced story (a guy tries to keep his nose clean in a dirty industry and kinda sorta succeeds) that needs perfect characterization and charm, and it doesn't quite have all that it needs.… Expand

3 of 7 users found this helpful34

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GinaKApr 13, 2015

A mediocre film with a complex plot and polished performances by Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain that just wasn’t very interesting or dramatic. Nicely directed, but I am not sure why I should care about this situation or these characters. IA mediocre film with a complex plot and polished performances by Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain that just wasn’t very interesting or dramatic. Nicely directed, but I am not sure why I should care about this situation or these characters. I can see now why it received so few major nominations.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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RMckayMar 6, 2022

Such a slow-burn that it never makes a single flame but rather just glows like dying coals in a campfire. I love a lot of the cast. But it seems to me that the whole film was one giant McGuffin. This is a film that you merely observe ratherSuch a slow-burn that it never makes a single flame but rather just glows like dying coals in a campfire. I love a lot of the cast. But it seems to me that the whole film was one giant McGuffin. This is a film that you merely observe rather than get absorbed by. There's not enough magnetism to keep one intrigued. I am although glad to see it wasn't trolled too badly by other users, as it's not a bomb. Just something to watch once, take what you can salvage from it and move on quickly. Gonna have to give it a 6.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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TrailesqueDec 3, 2017

There is not a lot of violence in this cool, frequently unaffecting drama. It is more a film about moral compromise than anything else, i.e. how do you succeed in a corrupt world without being at least a little corrupt yourself? Isaac playsThere is not a lot of violence in this cool, frequently unaffecting drama. It is more a film about moral compromise than anything else, i.e. how do you succeed in a corrupt world without being at least a little corrupt yourself? Isaac plays Abel Morales, a young, up and coming businessman who wants to make it big, but has to get over a lot of hurdles to get there. Chastain plays his hardcore, organized crime-connected wife. The Moraleses have some problems - they have one month to come up with the money to buy a property that will make them big players in the fuel oil industry, someone is ripping off their trucks and stealing their oil, the DA is getting started on a major investigation of their company (althou we never find out for what), one of their employees is a loose cannon, and an armed intruder is found messing around on their property. There are some good scenes, like the truck chase sequence, but the characters and story did not draw me in.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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MahmusOct 1, 2020

This movie is basically The Godfather part II but without the flashbacks and not nearly as good.

It just doesn't feel like it has enough conflict. There is conflict, but it just doesn't feel like it. However, there are some really goodThis movie is basically The Godfather part II but without the flashbacks and not nearly as good.

It just doesn't feel like it has enough conflict.
There is conflict, but it just doesn't feel like it.

However, there are some really good moments in it that make it worth watching. The score is amazing.

Well made and well acted, just not very engaging.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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