A Most Violent Year

JC Chandor, 2014

IMDB

2/5

Chandors follow-up to 2013’s great / under-rated All is Lost is a New York Crime drama starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain. The two of them are enough to get any cinephile on board. Isaac stars as Abel Morales, a successful business owner that runs a lucrative fuel-oil delivery business but has fallen victim to a lot hijackings of his vehicles. While the pressure builds for him to make changes to reduce the risk of his delivery-men in the field, he is focusing all of his energy into pooling together the funds to close on a neighboring property that would allow him to expand his operation.

The film could be considered a mild character study in the sense that you find yourself trying to get a read on Abel throughout the film. His actions are perplexing at times. He is very ego-driven, not so consumed with the money so much because he has enough of that. He seems to be another character completely focused on power, making that step to the next level. He is not very willing to let anything get in the way, even if it involves putting his employees and family at risk. His stubbornness becomes very frustrating in the story. You can feel the pressure mounting through the story while he stands back in his brown trench-coat staring at the walls thinking.

For a film to be called “A Most Violent Year” and have it be based on the most crime-filled year in the Big Apple, you would actually expect the film to be more violent. A more fitting name for the film would probably be a “A Most Non-Violent Movie”. Not that you NEED violence to fuel a film, but the rather unhurried rhythm of the film never really picks up and maintains that pace throughout the entire 125 minute running time. There isn’t a lot of chemistry between Isaac and Chastain. At times the script even feels quite weak. To the film’s credit it tries to explore some different avenues in the New York crime category by focusing on an entrepreneur rather than a group of gangsters, but it is ultimately too fruitless. Unfortunately Chandor’s followup to the great All is Lost is A Most Unmemorable film.

All is Lost

J.C. Chandor, 2013


4/5

A man (Robert Redford) is alone at sea, is startled when a shipping container collides with his yacht. He is quick to mend the situation, but it's the beginning of a series of events that tests his ability to survive at sea.

It's sure to solicit comparisons to similarly-themed survival at sea films like Open Water or Cast-Away. But it has so much more heart and substance than the former and less outrageous and hefty than the latter. You could say it's simply a story about a man and his boat. A man looking for some solitude, some peace, perhaps at a refectory period in his life. And some things just get in the way. Some things like, say, a forgotten Chinese shipping container filled with knock-off sneakers. And other things, like Mother Nature displaying her fury on the sea, turning a beautiful day into a grayish hell. Perhaps it's a lesson in life, that you can't run away from your personal conflicts, because conflict can find you anywhere in the world. How you deal with them when they arise, is possibly the true test of character.

Redford, cast as "Our Man", brings his veteran acting chops to the table as a veteran yachtsman. And he does a damn good job of doing it. There's a lot of things you don't know about the man, and you're left to put a lot of the pieces together. He's used to being at sea. That's quite clear. He appears to take comfort in being alone. Why he's alone is not clearly explained. You hear his narrative early on, and you see his wedding band on his finger so you know he has a family somewhere. He's a man who likes a cocktail (or two), and perhaps that's why he's alone at sea in the first place, especially given the apologetic tone set early on. At first when the metal shipping container pierces the side of the boat, he doesn't panic. He quickly improvises, clearly putting a certain skill-set into action and improvising. Even when the storm comes, he remains collected. But he is an effective hero, because although he doesn't tell you much, you are right there with him on that boat rooting for him.

The minimalism is what makes this film so great. No dialogue, one cast member. That puts a lot of pressure on Redford, but he handles it remarkably. It seems like Chandor must have gone through 100 cameras making this film. As far as the sound goes, the score isn't so pronounced nor does it need to be. Sometimes you just hear the sound of the fierce wind blowing. But when he's in the brunt of the unforgiving storm, there is an ambient resonance that is so perfectly haunting it gives that one particular scene so much more power. That scene, without revealing what happens, is the most memorable of the film. That synergy could be the best attribute of the film, other than Redford's acting. The creaking as the boat rocks back and forth. It becomes such an integral part of the film. You sit in the cabin with him, wondering what could be coming next. The schools of fish gather below the boat, and it may as well be a clock ticking. They grow in number and size. The impending doom. A story of a man's misfortune. A reminder that water can be the basis of one's survival, or one's peril. A tale of time, or the proper use of it. Especially when every minute counts. A test of one's personal fortitude. The possibility of breaking a man.