As an ardent fan of the gangster genre, I was excited to see A Most Violent Year, directed and written
by J.C. Chandor. The film is set in New York City in 1981. It is about an immigrant business owner, Abel(Oscar Isaac) who is dealing with several crisis as he races to make the biggest deal of his career. It follows Abel navigate the gray areas as he builds his empire and reputation on what he thinks are fair and honest priniciples in an industry where most of his competitors are either crooked or mobsters.
Jessica Chastain plays his wife Anna, who as his business partner and confidante constantly challenges his choice of taking the honest path. Oscar Isaac is so charasmatic as Abel, that you can't help being glued to his charisma, goodlooks, calm and principles in his fight to stick with the honest path. Oscar Isaac's Abel sort of reminds me of Al Pacino's Michael Corleone in The Godfather although Abel is the anti-Godfather. Acutually the film isn't really about gangsters, one of its prevailing themes is the American Dream.
Jessica Chastain plays his wife Anna, who as his business partner and confidante constantly challenges his choice of taking the honest path. Oscar Isaac is so charasmatic as Abel, that you can't help being glued to his charisma, goodlooks, calm and principles in his fight to stick with the honest path. Oscar Isaac's Abel sort of reminds me of Al Pacino's Michael Corleone in The Godfather although Abel is the anti-Godfather. Acutually the film isn't really about gangsters, one of its prevailing themes is the American Dream.
The film is highly stylized. The camera angles, lighting, cinematography and soundtrack are all excellent. The fashion captures that time exactly. The striped ties that Abel wears look just like the ones that my father wore in the 1980s as seen in old family pictures. As for Anna's costume, I would say her white coat stole the show. The full length style which features a nipped in waist and an oversized belt with silver buckle was very flattering on her. The coat was custom made for Jessica Chastain by Giorgio Armani, who also dressed the actress for the whole film. I was unsuccessful trying to find a coat on the internet with a similar silhoutte. I know boxy oversized coats are the trend but I am offiially on the hunt to find a coat in this timeless silhoutte for next fall/winter.
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| pictures from WWD |
Overall, A Most Violent Year doesn't dissapoint. I plan on going back to the theater to see it again.
If you are in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Get your tickets at Landmark Theaters Lagoon Cinema.
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