A Movie Review: A Most Violent Year

A Most Violent Year. Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) is an entrepreneur running a heating oil company.  One of his problems is corruption among his competitors.  Due to his unwillingness to respect territorial boundaries of his competitors, his trucks are constantly being hijacked.  This isn't his only problem.  The NY assistant district attorney, Lawrence (David Oyelowo), has decided to investigate his company.  There is also the little issue regarding his wife, Anna Morales (Jessica Chastain).  Anna Morales' father -- never seen on film -- is a former mobster.  She has a certain way of keeping the books that could get him into serious trouble with Lawrence.

Abel has decided to take a significant risk that will impact his future success, and likely impact his competitors abilities to hurt his business.  He puts a significant down payment on land owned by a group of Hasidic Jews.  This land has oil tanks, which will allow him to expand his business as well as cause his competitors to depend on him.  He is given 30 days to come up with the remaining money.  He is confident he can get the money as he has a good relationship with his bank; however, as multiple negative events unfold around him such as the criminal charges his bank backs out on him.  There are multiple juggling acts he must go through over a handful of days:  find a way to put together $1.5 million, deal with the investigation and find out who is responsible for hijacking his trucks.

To me, this movie is about a moral man working/living in an environment of ambiguous ethics.  You can see his kindness.  When one of his truck drivers is badly beaten, he visits the individual at the hospital and when the hospital releases the driver he is there to drive him home.  He wants to run his business like a family business.

He wants his business run in the right way.  He doesn't want to play the same game as his competitors.  And yet he makes certain compromises.  He is married to a mobster's daughter.  That can cause problems, but for him love over-whelms the dilemmas that might arise from such a situation.  Knowing his wife might have tendencies to deal with matters in a mafia manner, he still gives his wife full authority over the financial books while he focuses in on growing the business via growth and acquisition.

In some ways, one might rightly question his morals.  He is an individual who demands high standards of his employees, but when met with issues that might impact him negatively he is willing to shift his morals to fit the new situation.  And yet, he is willing to go only so far, his morals pulling him from the abyss.

Question:  a gun shot goes through an oil tank and Abel takes out a handkerchief to plug the hole.  Does this symbolize his attempt to keep his moral standing?  Of course, oil is black, which could indicate that the compromises he needs to do are coming to an end, but then he plugs the hole.

***

What irritated me about this movie -- there always has to be a couple issues, right?  Potential spoiler though I'll try to keep it vague -- why would his wife wait so long to tell him some important information.  There is an explanation given, but I just don't buy it.  Another issue that happens early in the movie so not so much a spoiler:  one of the truck drivers is beaten.  Both Abel and Anna visit him.  Abel also drives him home from the hospital.  We later learn that the driver is married.  And so why wasn't the wife ever at the hospital?

***

My over-all opinion:  such a great movie.  For me, it ranks up there with my favorites for the year:  Boyhood, Grand Budapest Hotel and Whiplash.