A Most Violent Year (8/10): J.C. Chandor is three for three

“When it feels scary to jump, that is exactly when you jump, otherwise you end up staying in the same place your whole life, and that I can't do.”

Over the past three years director J.C. Chandor has delivered three solid films which in my opinion have been overlooked by mainstream audiences. In Margin Call I was surprised with how well Chandor had written the screenplay for his financial thriller with very fast paced dialogues. Then in his next project (All is Lost), Chandor directed a film with hardly any dialogue whatsoever and managed to keep me engaged with Robert Redford’s quiet performance as he struggled to survive at sea. And now in Chandor’s recent film, A Most Violent Year, he also delivers a unique crime drama which resembles other classic films like Chinatown and The Godfather trilogy. Chandor has now crafted three great films that are all very different from each other. Despite admiring Chandor for his great screenplays, my favorite film of his is All is Lost which didn’t really require any dialogue, so he doesn’t necessarily rely on that strength of his. A Most Violent Year stands out thanks to some fantastic performances from a talented cast, some beautiful grayish camera work from Bradford Young (Selma and Ain’t Them Bodies Saints), a great production design which recreates New York City in the early 80’s in a very realistic way, and of course a strong and gritty screenplay written by Chandor. This is a very slow paced film which delivers on the dynamics between each character more than on traditional action scenes. 

What stands out the most in A Most Violent Year is the atmosphere that Chandor is able to recreate. Sometimes it feels like not much is going on, but the way the characters interact with one another keeps us engaged and interested. The film focuses on Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) an immigrant and uprising owner of a private oil company who is trying to close a deal on an important property which would boost his business. It seems that his competitors aren’t very happy with his rise. The world of private oil companies is dominated by gangsters, but Abel wants to accomplish the American dream legally. Unfortunately his trucks are being hijacked and he’s losing thousands of dollars in the process. He is desperately trying to figure out which of his competitors is behind these actions, but Lawrence (David Oyelowo), the officer in charge, doesn’t seem to have a clue. He is more interested in opening a file against Abel’s company on federal charges for tax evasion. Abel tries his best to remain an honest man, but his wife Anna (Jessica Chasten), whose father is a mobster, will do what it takes to protect her family if Abel doesn’t take care of things. All these things threaten Abel’s determination to remain legit and find a way to stay afloat, but he is determined to do so. Albert Brooks plays his lawyer, Andrew Walsh.

The performance from Oscar Isaacs stood out for me. He reminded me of Al Pacino’s performance as Michael Corleone with is calmed and determined demeanor. Things go very wrong for him, but Abel tries to remain calm and confident trying to gain back control of things. Jessica Chastain is fantastic as his wife. There is a scene where she finds her daughter playing with a gun and her reaction was priceless. The strongest moments of the film are when these two characters interact with each other. She also has a great scene with David Oyelowo where she threatens him to leave her family alone. She may be married to an honest man, but her father’s blood runs through her veins. Albert Brooks was fascinating as well despite not being on screen very much. I enjoyed his scenes and his presence is sort of the balancing point for Abel who sometimes wants to do things too legit. The grey tone of the film builds the atmosphere of the story and maintains us engaged despite the slow pacing. There is a fantastic chase scene that takes place two thirds into the film that worked really well and moved the story along, but it was the small interactions between Abel and his wife, between him and other business associates that really make this film stand out. It manages to remain an engaging and gripping thriller without having much action going on thanks to the performances and the atmosphere of the film. A Most Violent Year is a stylish thriller that hits the mark once again for Chandor, and he shouldn’t be overlooked from now on.

My Review: All is Lost (9/10)

"I fought 'til the end, I'm not sure what this worth, but know that I did."

All is Lost is writer/director J.C. Chandor's second film, following Margin Call which garnered him an Academy Award nomination for his original screenplay and put him in the map as a breakthrough filmmaker. Margin Call was full of great dialogues and fun characters, but Chandor completely changed his approach in All is Lost by focusing solely on one character who barely says anything at all. This is basically a silent film that focuses on one character and it completely relies on his performance alone. This is an experimental and simplistic survival film, but one that worked for me thanks to Robert Redford's powerful performance. Comparisons to Gravity are unavoidable considering they are both survival stories, but the approach was completely different. In Gravity we have plenty of dialogues and backstories allowing us to get to know who the main character is, but in All is Lost we don't know anything about this man (not even his name), but somehow both manage to engage the audience through different techniques. Gravity relied on its spectacular visuals, and All is Lost relied almost entirely on Robert Redford. The will to survive is part of our human nature and therefor it's easy to root for this guy despite not knowing anything about him. His struggle for survival against nature is something we all can relate to. Redford delivers a solid performance through his physical presence; his eyes and facial expressions say so much more than words. 

J.C. Chandor can bet he won't receive another nomination for his screenplay considering he only had to write a few lines for this film. The film won't get a supporting actor nod either since this is only a one man show. The only character in this film is an unnamed man played by Robert Redford who in the midst of a solo voyage through the Indian Ocean on his beautiful yacht wakes up one day to find that it has taken water after a collision with a shipping container. As his yacht begins to flood he loses his radio equipment and so his struggle for survival begins as he faces all sorts of odds in the midst of the vast and dangerous waters. It is him against nature, and his only companions are the living creatures under the sea.

Don't be fooled by the minimalistic and boring premise because this is a highly entertaining and well crafted film. I was at the edge of my seat for most of the 95 minutes as Redford continued to battle nature and face the immensity of the sea. Despite being predictable at times I still was engaged and highly anticipating what was coming next hoping he would defy all odds and survive. What All is Lost does best and ultimately separates itself from other survival films is that it touches more on the isolation theme. Like the main character we are sucked into his isolated world and it's us against the sea. Having no backstories or any other characters around allows us to experience this isolation and silence first hand. This was a very risky film to make but the experiment worked well for Chandor and it pays off. I also loved the ending of this film and I believe it allows for differing viewpoints. It was very symbolic. The score of this film composed by Alex Ebert was also quite breathtaking and perhaps key for a film that relied almost entirely on Redford's physical performance. This is as close as it gets to Hemingway's novel The Old Man and the Sea. It is a gripping adventure story about one man's refusal to die. This one man show might be demanding for audiences, but it is very much worth the ride.