A MOST VIOLENT YEAR (2014) – My rating: 7.5/10

A thought provoking, old argument comes to mind when talking about A Most Violent Year.  Can a moderate sized business prosper if that business is not willing to get into bed with the crooks and wrong doers of the business world?  This film tells the story of an immigrant who owns Standard Oil Company and wants to have a piece of the American dream.   The year is 1981, the most violent year recorded in the history of New York City.  Abel (Oscar Isaac) is interested in protecting his family, business and integrity while walking the straight and narrow, thus taking a more righteous route.   Abel Morales and his wife Anna Morales (Jessica Chastain) are being accused of tax evasion, price fixing and other wrong doing that could land them in jail, thus dissolving their company.  The district attorney, Lawrence (David Oyelowo) is watching and harassing Abel because he believes there is corruption there.  Suddenly trucks of the Standard Oil Company are being hijacked causing thousands of gallons of oil lost to Abel.  A Most Violent Year is pretty slow getting started and doesn’t really pick up too much throughout the movie.  While it’s not boring, it’s not action packed either.  It’s sort of a thriller because the audience is trying to figure out who’s behind the hijackings and what illegal part is Abel playing in the running of his company.  Oscar Isaac plays a convincing, believable role as does Jessica Chastain and David Oyelowo.  Albert Brooks brilliantly plays Andrew Walsh, the company lawyer.  Even though I liked A Most Violent Year, I recommend waiting for the DVD as there are no special effects or action sequences that rate seeing it on the big screen.