Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? If you like gangster films, yes.
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? Yes.
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 125 minutes (~2 hours)
“A Most Violent Year” is a gangster film about the life of oil company owner and immigrant Abel Morales as he tries to keep his company afloat amidst crime, criminal charges, and the treacherous streets of New York in the 1980s. It stars Oscar Isaac (Abel Morales) and Jessica Chastain (Anna Morales). It is rated NC-16.
It’s difficult to pin down the genre that “A Most Violent Year” falls in – while there are elements of crime, it’s hardly enough to qualify it as a crime sow. The tension isn’t high enough to make it a thriller, but it most definitely has enough twists and turns to call it a drama. What does it impart is a sense of of the honourable gangster, which in turn categorises this movie as a gangster flick.
Highlights
Strong, emotional scenes
Every scene seems simple on the surface, but is usually fraught with unsaid tensions and plenty of subtext. Each glance, each shift of the eyes, each carefully chosen word carries far more weight than what is ostensibly a pair of talking heads. Once you’ve caught wind of the what’s being implied between the lines, you’ll sit up and take note of what exactly is not being said.
The marriage of the Morales
Despite appearing like an ordinary couple from the start, Abel and Anna’s relationship is soon revealed to be a far more complex of support and deception. That’s not to say they aren’t dutiful spouses – in fact, they are deathly loyal to each other. But what lends weight to their portrayals is their individual motivations for their actions, and how this leads them to unfortunate consequences at times.
Abel Morale’s personal struggle
Abel Morales is a pensive, intense character, who puts the weight of the world on his shoulders with every decision he makes. He doesn’t always agree with the deeds of the other characters, but he struggles to be as upright and honourable a man as he can be. It is the choices that he makes, between duty and morality, that lead you to ask yourself – would you act any differently in his shoes?
Strong but subtle themes
One of the more subtle themes of the movie is that of decision and responsibility, that is, you make the bed that you lie in. No-one epitomises this more than Abel Morales, but many of the other characters can be seen falling by the wayside when they fail to rise to the occasion.
Letdowns
A sleepy opening
The introduction to the film doesn’t do it any justice. It’s supposed to be a powerful scene that sets the premise for the rest of the film, but it’s so crowded with characters that you’re not quite sure who to focus on. Also, at this point, there’s no solid indication of who we should be rooting for, leading to a rather blase opening.
Resolution feels like a cop out
The crime element is presented as a mystery, yet the conclusion to this is a whimper. There’s no real answer to the questions that were posed throughout the movie, and it feels like the film intentionally misleads you with hollow promises of intrigue.
“A Most Violent Year” is an intense character study of a couple put into near impossible circumstances, and worth your time if you’re looking for an insightful, thought-provoking film. It runs a little too long though, but that gives you time to muse over the message and themes of the film.
“A Most Violent Year” opens in cinemas 5 February, 2015 (Thursday).
This review was also published on Yahoo Singapore.
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