A Most Violent Year (2015)
82%RT Audience Score: 69%
Awards & Nominations: 15 wins & 52 nominations
Gritty, gripping, and weighted with thought-provoking heft, A Most Violent Year represents another strong entry in writer-director J.C. Chandor’s impressive filmography
A Most Violent Year is like a camel-hair coat: classy, but lacking a bit of excitement. However, Jessica Chastain steals the show with her sizzling performance as Abel’s ambitious wife. Oscar Isaac is also magnificent, and the film’s period piece aesthetic is beautiful. It’s an edgy crime thriller that showcases the underside of the American Dream, and while it may not lead anywhere unexpected, it’s still a precise and grippingly real movie. Overall, it’s worth a watch, especially if you’re a fan of Chastain and Isaac’s match made in heaven.
Production Company(ies)
Romaine Film Corporation,
Distributor
A24
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Packard Plant, Detroit, Michigan, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and some violence
Year of Release
2015
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:2h 4m
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 31, 2014 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 7, 2015
Genre(s)
Crime/Mystery & Thriller
Keyword(s)
starring Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo, Alessandro Nivola, Albert Brooks, Elyes Gabel, directed by J.C Chandor, written by J.C Chandor, produced by Neal Dodson, Anna Gerb, J.C Chandor, crime, mystery, thriller, drama, R rating, box office performance, $5.7M gross USA, Dolby Digital sound mix, reviewed by Jason Bailey, Adam Nayman, Nick Schager, Philippa Hawker, Liz Braun, Liam Lacey, Victor Pineyro, MaryAnn Johanson, Anne Brodie, Nikki Baughan, Catherine Springer, starring Michael Corleone, fuel supplier, moral compass, rampant violence, corruption, decay, immigrant, New York, 1981
Worldwide gross: $12,007,070
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $14,988,046
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,816
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,634,465
US/Canada gross: $5,749,134
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $7,176,462
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,705
US/Canada opening weekend: $172,788
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $215,686
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,642
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $20,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $24,965,367
Production budget ranking: 1,250
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $13,443,850
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$23,421,172
ROI to date (est.): -61%
ROI ranking: 1,755
Jessica Chastain – Anna
David Oyelowo – Lawrence
Alessandro Nivola – Peter Forente
Albert Brooks – Andrew Walsh
Elyes Gabel – Julian
Director(s)
J.C. Chandor
Writer(s)
J.C. Chandor
Producer(s)
Neal Dodson, Anna Gerb, J.C. Chandor
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
15 wins & 52 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (233) | Top Critics (71) | Fresh (209) | Rotten (24)
Instead of directing a movie that screams “HEY, IT’S THE ’80S,” he made one that looks, sounds, and feels like a refugee from that era, and lets the audience do the rest.
May 30, 2016
Jason Bailey
Flavorwire
TOP CRITIC
A Most Violent Year’s final scenes are its worst: they reveal that the plot’s sure-footed plodding hasn’t led anywhere unexpected, narratively or thematically.
December 14, 2015
Adam Nayman
Reverse Shot
TOP CRITIC
A Most Violent Year resonates as the rare film to not simply take its superficial cues from The Godfather, but to truly understand its underlying ideas — and, more impressive still, to re-work them into something thrillingly unique.
October 20, 2015
Nick Schager
The Daily Beast
TOP CRITIC
In the end, a little too much rides on what we make of this couple and their partnership, and the movie, well-conceived as it is, has drawn its boundaries a little too tightly.
February 27, 2015 | Rating: 3.5/5
Philippa Hawker
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
The underside of the American Dream is on display in A Most Violent Year, a drama about an immigrant trying to make his way to the top.
February 2, 2015
Liz Braun
Toronto Sun
TOP CRITIC
Like that camel-hair coat Abel wears, A Most Violent Year is classy and commands respect, but a stronger pulse under the lapels would make us care much more.
January 30, 2015 | Rating: 2.5/4
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain are a match made in heaven. Michael Corleone lives in Isaac’s character. A Most Violent Year is a precise, grippingly real movie while also maintaining a beautiful aesthetic. [Full review in Spanish]
June 16, 2022 | Rating: 9/10
Victor Pineyro
Seventh Art Studio
My pick is A Most Violent Year, in which the always awesome Jessica Chastain steals the whole film, even with Oscar Isaac as her co-star.
October 7, 2021
MaryAnn Johanson
AWFJ Women on Film
A Most Violent Year is and edgy crime thriller that showcases Jessica Chastain’s amazing talents. It’s a period piece that knocks it right out of the park.
October 7, 2021
Anne Brodie
AWFJ Women on Film
It is the ever-fantastic Chastain who steals the show, putting in what has been described as a ‘sizzling performance’ as Abel’s equally as ambitious wife. See it.
October 7, 2021
Nikki Baughan
AWFJ Women on Film
Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain are absolutely transcendent as the couple at the heart here, trying to hold together their company, which may or may not be crooked.
July 26, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Catherine Springer
CathsFilmForum.com
Oscar Isaac is magnificent in this enthralling movie…
May 18, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
Angus Batey
NME…
Plot
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.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The review praises Oscar Isaac’s performance as “phenomenal.”
J.C.-Chandor.jpg
