A Most Violent Year

Following the tense Wall Street drama Margin Call (2011) dissecting the psychological causes of the 2008 crisis, and the tour de force All Is Lost (2013) featuring Robert Redford as its only actor playing a solo sailor in trouble, J.C. Chandor - one of the most exciting American filmmakers of his generation - again comes up with something new for his third feature.
A Most Violent Year is an atmospheric portrait of an immigrant in New York who in 1981, a year with very high crime rates, tries to defend his business against Mafia competition. He himself also transgresses moral boundaries - partly as he has no choice, and partly as this is in his character.
Chandor is able through several measured outbursts of violence to create constant tension in this well-balanced thriller, the strength of which lies significantly in its depiction of the New York of 1981 and in the acting of Oscar Isaac as the man who puts his business, marriage (to Jessica Chastain) and self respect on the line.