A MOST VIOLENT YEAR takes place 1981- in the most violent year of crime in New York City.  Abel (Oscar Isaac) and Anna Morales (Jessica Chastain) are taking a big risk to expand their business, Standard Heating Oil Co while a couple of people are hijacking some of their fuel trucks and the District Attorney office is having them under investigation with threat of charges against Abel and his business.   A MOST VIOLENT YEAR is a classic drama from J.C. Chandor who manages to pull off a film entirely different from the introspective ALL IS LOST.   The movie evokes the period of the 1980s (which was filmed in certain parts of New York City to get the time period looking like 1981) where crime is at its high and Abel is trying to stay the honest businessman without having to compromise himself and his business while his wife wants to take the easy way (she is the daughter of a New York gangster).   J.C. Chandor wrote this movie as a way to look at how violence spreads from one act of violence along with a cautionary tale about the American Dream.  Oscar Isaac owns the movie with his understated and yet powerful performance as Abel.  The cinematography is clearly thought out and beautifully composed by cinematographer Bradford Young and the music score (by Alex Ebert) is one of the best movie scores I have heard as it fuels the undercurrent of A MOST VIOLENT YEAR.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Audio commentary with writer/ director J.C. Chandor, and producers Neal Dodson and Anna Gerbon

 

BEHIND THE VIOLENCE is a two part making-of documentary has interviews with cast and crew as they talk about the production of the movie, the cinematography, the music, costumes, locations, and production design.

 

A CONVERSATION WITH JESSICA CHASTAIN AND OSCAR ISAAC:

THE EARLY YEARS- they talk about their early acting

A SHARED FOUNDATION- they continue as they talk about their time at Juilard.

MASTERING THE CRAFT- they finish by talking about how they approach acting and how they worked together for this movie

 

WE CAN CURE VIOLENCE- a promo for the CURE VIOLENCE foundation which looks at violence as a virus (and has had some good effects at cutting down violence in communities around the world)

THE CONTAGIOUS NATURE OF VIOLENCE: THE ORIGINS OF A MOST VIOLENT YEAR- a conversation between J.C. Chandor and Gary Slutkin (founder and executive director of Cure Violence)

 

Five deleted scenes which add nothing to the movie even though the confrontation between Abel and his twelve year old daughter is a powerful scene

Theatrical trailer and theatrical teaser

 

Previews for EX MACHINA, WHILE WE WERE YOUNG, CUT BANK, and REVENGE OF THE GREEN DRAGONS

 

FINAL ANALYSIS: A MOST VIOLENT YEAR is one of the best dramas to come to blu-ray this year with Oscar Isaac owning every scene he is in.   The making-of extras are worth watching if you want to learn more about the movie and the actors.

 

This review is ©4-10-2015 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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