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Wow! What a movie! “A Most Violent Year” refers to New York City in 1981, a particularly bad year for crime. The up-and-coming actor Oscar Isaac believes in the American dream. His belief has led him to own an oil delivery firm. As the story begins, he negotiates for riverfront property which will elevate his business to a leading position. But we also learn that the oil delivery business has ties to, and must compete with mobsters and shady characters. Thieves hijack Issac’s trucks and sell the fuel for their own gain. A nervous driver escalates the robberies into a murky dangerous turf war. Soon, an ambitious District Attorney gets involved, hoping for political gain. Jessica Chastain centers the pot as a modern-day Lady Macbeth - furiously smoking, and working a calculator while keeping an eagle eye on company finances. The mix of ambition, crime and the American dream produces rarely achieved knot-in-the-stomach tension. Jessica Chastain hits the top of her game, as the film’s most interesting and frightening character. “A Most Violent Year” is a most satisfying movie. Does it deliver what it promises? Crime thriller. Is it entertaining? Feels like the great movies of the 1970′s. Is it worth the price of admission? One of the year’s best.
