Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

A Most Violent Year
2014
***½
Director: J.C. Chandor
Cast: Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo, Alessandro Nivola, Albert Brooks, Elyes Gabel, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Ashley Williams, Jerry Adler, Christopher Abbott

J.C. Chandor's understated New York drama tells a fictional story, which feels totally authentic. It's set in 1981, which had one of the highest crime rates in the city's history. Against this backdrop, Oscar Isaac gives a commanding performance as an idealistic heating-oil dealer whose entire livelihood hangs in the balance when his fuel trucks get repeatedly hijacked. Like All Is Lost, Chandor's previous film, this is another tale of one man against the elements, which in this case are crime, corruption, and prejudice.