The movie, 'A Most Violent Year'

On Sunday, we went to see 'A Most Violent Year', the movie written and directed by J. C. Chandor and starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain.

Official Poster for 'A Most Violent Year'

As the poster rightly suggests, the third star is 'New York City, 1981'.  We've all conveniently forgotten that New York City in 1981 was a city gripped by crime -- murder, corruption, armed robbery -- and grime -- graffiti, decay, tawdriness.  Chandor and Bradford Young, his cinematographer, have recaptured that time and place with an inky vividness.

Isaac plays Abel Morales, the most honorable (or perhaps least dishonorable) man in the City's corrupt heating oil business.  Chastain plays his wife, Anna, the daughter of a mobster who keeps two (or more) sets of books for the heating oil business.  The story is set in motion by Abel's downpayment on a piece of land on the Brooklyn waterfront he hopes will safeguard his oil supply.  He has 30 days to close the deal.  The tension mounts as Abel is beset by woes on several fronts and his ability to get the funds in time begins to wane.

There are some relatively slow patches in the movie, but the sense of foreboding and apprehension holds your attention.  The excellent supporting cast includes Albert Brooks, David Oyelowo, Alessandro Nivola, Jerry Adler, Elyes Gabel ('Scorpion' on CBS), and Catalina Sandino Rivera.  The musical score by Alex Ebert makes an eerily apt contribution to the ominous atmosphere.

Oscar Isaac is relatively stoic as the Job-like Abel maneuvering from one catastrophe to another.  Jessica Chastain as the mercurial Anna gives an astonishing performance that walks an ambiguous knife-edge between good and evil that enlivens every scene she is in.

Banner for 'A Most Violent Year' featuring its three stars:  Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, and New York City, 1981.