• Home
  • Meetings
  • Events
  • Blog
  • E-Board
  • Around Boston
  • Join
Northeastern University's Film Enthusiasts Club
.

Carter Sigl on A Most Violent Year

1/16/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
New York City, 1981. The city is being engulfed in a crime wave the likes of which have never been seen before. Every day there are more robberies, more rapes, and more murders. The ordinary people of the Big Apple deal with as best they can while going about their lives, working and living and dying. One of these people is Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac), who is the head of one of the city’s heating oil companies. Just as he is about to strike a major business deal, disaster strikes as his delivery divers start being attacked and their trucks and the valuable oil being stolen. Even worse, the District Attorney (David Oyelowo) is investigating the company for supposed criminal activities. It’s all Abel can do to keep his head above water, and protect his wife Anna (Jessica Chastain) and children.

Directed by J.C. Chandor, creator of the acclaimed All is Lost, A Most Violent Year is a drama film about both crime and family. The key word of the film is subtlety, in all departments. The colors are muted under a weak winter sun, and the palate consists almost entirely of whites, greys, and tans. The film thankfully averts stereotypical 80s wardrobes, dressing its characters in similarly subdued outfits, although Oscar Isaac’s phenomenal coat deserves a Supporting Actor nomination for the sheer amount of focus Chandor gives it. The writing is realistic and understated, which only serves to further condense and channel the film’s well-developed sense of drama and suspense.

However, where this film really shines is the acting, particularly that of Isaac and Chastain. Isaac continues to prove that he can put on a fantastic performance in any role and situation, whether as a morally questionable businessman to a struggling folk musician; sadly he does not sing in this film. But while Isaac is very good, Chastain is phenomenal. Rather than being a simple housewife, her character is actually the most ruthlessly terrifying character I’ve seen on screen in quite a while. She’s cutthroat and quietly menacing. The film’s subtlety generally extends to the acting as well, which makes the occasional unexpected outburst all the more surprising and memorable. Make sure especially to keep an eye out for one particular scene involving Jessica Chastain and a deer (trust me, it makes sense on context), which for me was one of the most memorable scenes of the year.

And this creates the primary problem of the film. While there are a number of phenomenal individual scenes, all the parts in the middle just aren’t quite as good. There are in no way poorly made, they just seem a little boring in comparison. If the film had been able to keep the pace and suspense that those select scenes possess running through its entire run-time, then it would have been a great movie. The rest of the film just didn’t do as much for me, and while it is certainly worth seeing, I feel absolutely no need to watch it again. Except for that one scene with Chastain, which I could watch on repeat till Hell freezes over.

Grade: B-
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    AJ Martin
    Andy Robinson
    Anime
    Anthony Formicola
    Anu Gulati
    Arjun Agarwal
    Arzu Martinez
    Ben Garbow
    Brandon Isaacson
    Brian Hamilton
    Carter Sigl
    Dan Simeone
    Discussion
    Elizabeth Johnson Wilson
    Eliza Rosenberry
    Emily Fisler
    Erick Sanchez
    Eric Tatar
    Essays
    Festivals
    Gabrielle Ulubay
    Haley Emerson
    Here's Some Movies
    Ian Wolff
    IFF Boston
    IFFBoston 2015
    Interviews
    Isaac Feldberg
    Kunal Asarsa
    Library
    Lists
    Marguerite Darcy
    Marissa Marchese
    Mary Tobin
    Meghan Murphy
    Mike Muse
    Mitch Macro
    Neel Shah
    Netflix Instant Watch
    Parth Parekh
    Patrick Roos
    Profiles
    Reviews
    Short Films
    Television
    This Week In Movies
    Tyler Rosini

    Want to Write for Us?

    Contact NUFEC President Ian Wolff at nufecblog@gmail.com if you're interested in writing for this blog!

    Archives

    April 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.