I feel like Oscar Isaac is always in the conversation when discussing important thespians. The versatile actor can play Moon Knight one moment, and then star in Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein the next.
And, like, cool. I love that Isaac can be in a drama like In the Hand of Dante, but it’s not absurd to think of him in the Star Wars universe, either (which, I might add, he may return to one day…under certain conditions). However, there’s one movie of his that I don’t hear nearly enough people talking about, and it greatly upsets me, since it’s my absolute favorite of his.
2014’s A Most Violent Year is one of those brilliant films that, like The Lighthouse, or, even like another Oscar Isaac gem, Ex Machina, really should have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. But, why is it so good? Well, you’re about to find out.
Oscar Isaac's Moral Code Has Never Been Grayer In A Movie
Here’s some trivia. Did you know that Isaac wasn’t even the initial choice for A Most Violent Year? Nope, it was Javier Bardem (whom I actually just wrote about in another rather obscure film). Anyway, I honestly couldn’t imagine anybody else in this movie besides Isaac, since he’s the perfect blend of sympathetic and serious.
In this film, he plays a fuel supplier named Abel Morales who finds himself in a rather big predicament. You see, his shipments keep getting robbed. The setting is New York, and the year is 1981, which was apparently “a most violent year” for the city. Another problem Morales has is that his company is being investigated for various crimes by an assistant district attorney (David Oyelowo).
To add on even more stress, his attorney (played by Albert Brooks, who I’ll talk about later) is getting him a deal with Hasidic Jews to purchase a safer spot for his fuel, and his wife (Jessica Chastain, who I’ll also talk about soon), is the kind of woman who wants to fight fire with fire against the people who keep hijacking their fuel trucks. All of this is to say that Morales, who is a character with agency, has to make his own decisions to get the money necessary to get the job done, and some of these methods aren’t the most law-abiding.
It’s all very seedy and morally gray territory, but Isaac wades through it well. You feel sorry that he has to deal with all of this mess, but also that he isn’t making the best choices to get out of this, so it’s really fascinating stuff.
Jessica Chastain Does Not Mess Around In This Movie. Like, Not Even A Little
As I already mentioned, Jessica Chastain is a force to be reckoned with in this movie, and that’s saying something, since she was pretty intimidating in Zero Dark Thirty. But in this movie, where she plays a concerned wife to our protagonist, she doesn’t like the idea of their business being robbed. In fact, she’s very much of the opinion that they should bring the firepower to the doorstep of their competitors, since she believes they’re the ones messing with their business.
You can tell that Isaac’s character doesn’t want to go that route. Or, he’d rather go any other route possible to circumvent that grisly outcome, but Chastain’s character, Anna, is very persistent, to the point that she is even willing to speak to the Assistant District Attorney who’s hounding them herself. She comes from a crime family, and her moral code is even grayer than her husband’s.
I love this side of Chastain. She’s calm, but she’s got a determination in her eyes to get whatever she wants. And, she will get it, even if it means skimming money from their own business (which might be why they are under legal investigation in the first place).
Honestly, like the film itself, Chastain should have been nominated for an Academy Award (she was, however, nominated for several other awards, including a Golden Globe). Like Isaac, her performance is just that good.
And My God, Albert Brooks Should Have Also Been Nominated For This Movie
Similar to film legend Robin Williams, Albert Brooks is the kind of comedian who may actually be a better dramatic actor than a funny man. A while ago, I talked about the movie Drive, and how good Albert Brooks was in that film as a mobster.
Well, in A Most Violent Year, he plays a much more subtle - though, no less effective - character as Morales's lawyer, Andrew Walsh. He is the one who actually sets the deal in motion with the Hasidic Jews, and is trying to help find a solution to pay off the down payment. The thing is, given how corrupt the system is, his character is trying to operate within the framework of the law, which isn't easy, because everybody seems to have their hand in the pot.
Morales is trying to be a good man and work within legal means, but he gets so in over his head that he starts to make what might be seen as foolish decisions. Brooks’s character, however, is trying to help him stay the course. You can tell they have a good relationship, and Walsh knows the parameters that his client is willing to cross, and which he will stay firmly within.
It’s a really nuanced, if quiet, performance, and yet further proof that more people should still be talking about this movie.
New York City Has Never Felt So Threatening
Look, I’m from New Jersey, home of The Sopranos, Jersey Shore, and The Toxic Avenger (who is one of Jersey’s finest superheroes). So, I have very close ties to New York (I’m from the Northern side of Jersey. The Southern side are the Philadelphia lovers).
Anyway, I bring all this up since I frequently visit New York, and over the years, I’ve witnessed its transformation. As an adult, I’ve seen New York pre and post-9/11, and the changes have been quite substantial. I’ve witnessed mayors transform the city into a fairly safe place where I can take my kids to see Broadway shows and Comic Con events, and I always feel safe, even late at night.
However, I also remember New York when I was a kid back in the ‘90s, and the horror stories I heard about it in the ‘80s, and I think this movie captures that danger and intrigue. Because this is a New York where people can be hijacked in broad daylight, and criminals brandish guns with impunity. It’s a New York where crime is visible, and the law kind of dances around it.
A Most Violent Year is a film that does right by its namesake, and I can’t think of many other movies that do so, which brings me to my last point.
Overall, It's A Truly Harrowing Film That Should Be Talked About More
Very few films are as hard-hitting, but quiet, as A Most Violent Year. It’s a film that will stress you out, but unlike Uncut Gems (another film that should have been up for Best Picture), it will patiently get you to that point.
It’s a crime film, a thriller, a period piece, and a character study, all rolled into one, and it’s marvelous for that reason.
It’s also, in my opinion, Isaac’s finest work, and a performance that should be studied when it comes to gravitas.
What do you think? Have you seen this film? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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