A Most Violent Year (2014)

In New York City 1981, an ambitious immigrant fights to protect his business and family during the most dangerous year in the city's history.

Director:

J.C. Chandor

Writer:

J.C. Chandor

Stars:

Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 15 wins & 51 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Oscar Isaac	...	Abel Morales
Elyes Gabel	...	Julian
Jessica Chastain	...	Anna Morales
Lorna Pruce	...	Toll Booth Attendant
Christopher Abbott	...	Louis Servidio
Matthew Maher	...	John Dominczyk
Albert Brooks	...	Andrew Walsh
Jerry Adler	...	Joseph Mendelsohn
Quinn Meyers	...	Moishe Mendelsohn
Chester Jones III	...	Beat Cop (as Chester Jones)
David Oyelowo	...	D.A. Lawrence
Ashley Williams	...	Deputy Lange
Glenn Fleshler	...	Arnold Kline
Jimmy Palumbo	...	Barber Jimmy O.
Daisy Tahan	...	Annie Morales

Storyline

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 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.

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Plot Keywords:

new york city | american dream | oil | year 1981 | immigrant | 

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Taglines:

New York City 1981, a dangerous time to build an empire.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Javier Bardem was cast in the lead role during development. But after some disagreements with the film's direction, Bardem dropped out. Jessica Chastain suggested her former Juillard classmate, Oscar Isaac, who ended up being cast.

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Goofs

When Abel is chasing the hijacker by the railroad tracks, a number of freight car hoppers display yellow reflective safety stripes that were not commonly applied until the mid-2000s. Several also display reporting marks not common until the 2000s-2010s.

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Quotes

Abel Morales: What is that?
Anna Morales: It's a gun. It's a fu-cking gun.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 20 Underrated Movies of the Century So Far (2020)

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Soundtracks

Una Lacrima Sul Viso
Written by Mogol (as Giulio Rapetti Mogol) and Bobby Solo (as Roberto Satti)
Performed by Ciao Italia
Courtesy of Rendez-Vous-Digital

User Reviews

Methodic Thriller

Chandor (All is Lost) is one of the more prolific young directors working. With AMVY, an adult mystery-drama-thriller, he screams of the classics: tension of French Connection, quiet of Chinatown, and menace of Mean Streets. It's a fantastic period piece that creates an authentic, distinct look at 1980s New York, while tonally replicating films from that era. Is it a bit TOO quiet and a bit TOO slow at times? Yep…but the taut skill on display is too good to ignore. Abel Morales, a successful, hardworking oil company owner, tries to thrive and survive during 1981 NYC, the most violent year in history. Despite this premise, the crime-action is more a successfully imminent background thought than a constant in-your- face presence. As the movie progresses and ultimately gets better, the subtle suspense builds, and each individual incident pushes Morales closer to his breaking point. Isaac shines in the protagonist role, playing one of the coolest characters around: broken yet proud, strong yet vulnerable, decent yet pressed, and shrewdly bad-to-the-bone. I wish Chastain was a bit more up to the task as his ominous, hardly-doting wife, but luckily she's not a huge distraction to the otherwise stellar acting by some of Hollywood's great new talents. Throughout the solid work being done, we are presented with some great things to ponder: wanting the American dream without knowing why; struggling to be successful without becoming corrupt; juggling humility and pride in a world that drains you. Unfortunately the character's relationships with these different questions bring the movie to a bore at times. Mostly though, it manages to be a solid little award-season drama.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA United Arab Emirates

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

30 January 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jc3

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$172,788, 4 January 2015

Gross USA:

$5,749,134

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,007,070

Company Credits

Production Co:

Before The Door Pictures, Washington Square Films, FilmNation Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1