A MOST VIOLENT YEAR : Saturday 7th March 2015.

On my search for a new movie theatre in downtown Adelaide I found two within one hundred metres of each other both owned & operated by the same independent Australian cinema chain . . . fantastic, and in the heart of cafe, bars, and eatery land - what could be better? And so last night, I saw 'A MOST VIOLENT YEAR' - this American dramatic period piece set in Noo Yawk in possibly one of its most violent, turbulent, corrupt and dangerous years in its more recent history - 1981.

Directed and Written by J. C. Chandor this film is a slow burn, it's a morality tale, and a story of the little guy going it alone against the bigger guys and overcoming adversity to ultimately rise the victor as he chases the American Dream. Oscar Isaac is Abel Morales who we rarely see out of his camel coat braving a harsh New York winter as he struggles to maintain the heating oil business he has built from the ground up in the last ten years. Times are tough, competition is strong and he and his drivers are seemingly under constant attack from rival companies . . . of which there are many covering the greater New York area.

As an immigrant family, Abel is married to Anna (Jessica Chastain) and he has a moral code the he will not deviate from. He is honest, caring, loyal, tries to do the right thing always, and believes in hard work, integrity, setting an example and chasing his dream. As the attacks of his drivers worsen and he has more and more oil stolen his wife urges him to fight violence with violence, but he resists every step of the way. Determined to buy a disused old storage plant on the river that would see him quickly rise to the top and overpower his competitors he puts down a significant cash deposit on the property with a commitment that he has 30 days and no more to close the deal, or lose it all.

Needing another $1.5M to secure the deal he is confident that the bank will support the loan as they have in the past . . . but, they don't count on Assistant District Attorney Lawrence (David Oyelowo) who has Morales under scrutiny for possible tax evasion, price fixing, and other illegal affairs that he and his rivals have been getting away with for years, despite Morales constant denial that he has done anything untoward to solicit such unwelcome attention. When this begins to surface, and more attacks occur on Morales business (Standard Oil) the bank gets edgy and pulls away from the loan leaving Morales high & dry . . . almost!

With only a matter of days before closure, Morales needs to raise significant funds to secure his future, and that of his wife and family. Seeking loans from his rivals, remortgaging a unit block he shares with his younger brother, and securing funding from a few other places it comes right down to the wire before the deal is done three days over due.

Before doing so though the DA is niggling away at Morales business affairs with a court case pending, the attacks continuing, home life under pressure (wife Anna is also the company book-keeper), and a former employee who has been attacked twice is now on the run himself and posing a threat to Morales ongoing business interests unless he can be brought in to the authorities.

There are some tense moments in this film and the performances are solid from both Isaac and Chastain as husband and wife double act, and so too from Albert Brooks as Andrew Walsh - long term close friend, advisor and lawyer to Standard Oil and Morales. With Morales striding about meaningfully throughout in his long camel coat I was reminded of a younger Al Pacino who I felt surely had some influence on Isaac's character traits here . . . not to mention appearance! The dialogue is solid; the performances grounded; the look, feel and tone is early 80's without question; but the story does plod a little and takes a long time to not go very far.

Despite the title do not expect much on-screen violence here - it is a character driven story of good overcoming evil and not buckling to pressure, external influences and the easy way out. There are hardships, adversity, personal and professional struggles, underscored by a deep rooted integrity and an unwavering belief to do the right thing that must be upheld at all times.

You don't need to see this on the big screen and you could easily wait for the DVD and BluRay, but, this film has garnered some excitement with one Golden Globe nominations and a total of eight award wins and 33 nominations off its US$20M production budget.

 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-