A Most Violent Year ~~ Movie Review ~~

Most of you know, Jessica Chastain is my girl.  I love her!  Was I excited to see A Most Violent Year? You betcha!  Here we go:

"A crime drama set in New York City during the winter of 1981, statistically one of the most violent years in the city's history, and centered on a the lives of an immigrant and his family trying to expand their business and capitalize on opportunities as the rampant violence, decay, and corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built."  - Written by Production

First let's talk about the things I liked about this movie  - I love the cast.

Jessica Chastain wears the mob princess tiara perfectly.    She portrays her role as  the calm, cool & collected bookkeeper/wife with ease.  It's when she drops that charade and we see the true character of Anna that she SHINES.  She goes from normal to bat shit crazy without blinking an eye - and I love it.  IMO, without Chastain, this movie would not warrant much mention.

I also like Oscar Isaac in this film. He plays the role of "a good man going bad" very well.  You do love him and want to believe in his niavete.  He seems to be brewing though, so you can never be sure.

David Oyelowo has a supporting role in this film - you know him from Selma of course.  It's a solid performance.  I met him a couple of weeks ago at the Critics Choice Awards.  Very nice guy.

I thought the Cinematography was SPOT ON.  Oscar-nominated Bradford Young (also of Selma fame, among others) gives AMVY a dark and dreary feel, and uses colors and shots that really take you to the early 80's.  (as a teen of the late 80's - I loved this)

There isn't really one thing I didn't like about AMVY, it just seems a bit too safe and slow. The story is good - so much corruption in the field of trash and sanitation?  Who knew!  It does a great job of taking you into the corruption of NYC back in the 80s.  But watching it, I felt like something was coming, like "any minute now, shit is going to get crazy", but it never really does.  

To wrap it up in a nice little package - I am glad I saw the movie, it was entertaining, but I wasn't blown away.  Of all the movies I saw this award season, it doesn't rank in my top ten.   But if you are looking for something to see on a Sunday afternoon - I would recommend you check it out.