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Book Fair Comics (340 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3C 0C3,(204) 957-0142). The preview was being sponsored by 99.9 BOB FM and 106.1 FM to name but 2 of the sponsors.
Set during the winter of 1981 -- statistically one of the most crime-ridden of New York City's history -- A MOST VIOLENT YEAR is a drama following the lives of an immigrant and his family as they attempt to capitalize on the American Dream, while the rampant violence, decay, and corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built.
Oscar Issac stars in the lead role of Able Morales, an immigrant who has been in the oil industry for years. His business is at the point of expansion even while his company is being targeted both by the DA's office and by rival companies.Able runs a lig
Jessica Chastain plays Able's wife and book keeping business partner. While Anna sits back and lets Able run the show she runs him. She is as determined as he is to protect their family and all that they have worked for by whatever means necessary. While Able believes he has run the company ligit and by the books all of these years, his wife has been skimming the accounts and robbing the company all of these years. She has accumulated a nice little nest egg over the years. Anna grew up in a mob family and with a currupt father. She is like a gangster princess who acts like a lady on the outside and is as cold as iced on the inside.
Able, being of Spanish decent himself has fought long and hard to build up a successful oil business. He is married to Anna, whose own father was a mobster within the industry. In 1981 in New York City the oil industry was just one of many corrupt industries. Able is determined to expand on his business with righteousness while being somewhat naive about the not so innocent role others close to him may play in expanding the business. He makes a deal to purchase river fro land that already has oil storage units and puts his life saving in cash (40 percent) down on the property and he has 30 days to come up with the rest. Unaware that his wife has been smuggling company money for years as a way to protect her family he decides to meat with the DA who has been investigating his company for 2 years. The DA is about to change Able with 14 or more counts including several serious charges. Because of the charges that are coming to light the bank backs out of the loan agreement and Able is left scrambling to come up with 1.5 mil or lose the deposit he already paid.
The more interesting and side story unwraps around Elyes Gable who plays Julian, one of the company drivers and is of Spanish decent. He is attacked, beaten, and his truck full of oil is stolen. As this side story unfolds he asks Able if Able thinks he is ready to go into sales and Able says no. Julian has a family to support and needs to work. He is terrified thought and feels like he needs to protect himself. He arms himself with a gun and heads off with his first truck of oil since he was robbed. At the end of the day he is taken by Able to meet with the police and to turn himself in. He decides to go on the run instead. He says he cannot live with his mistakes of the past.Able tries to remind him to forget the past and look to the future, the changes, the possibilities, but sadly it is to late for Julian.One haul in one day has changed the rest of Julian's life for the worse.He cannot face life as a criminal when Able has fought so harm to walk the straight and narrow.
Business Insider 's Brett Arnold wrote that the movie "may be slow, but it's never dull." Having read a review that said the movie was one of mobsters and gangsters I thought the movie would be quite different then it was. Able was much a gentleman throughout the movie and his character maintained integrity ( honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.). While the movie is not shoot them up gangster style, Able does leave fear with his competitors. He is certainly brave and willing to fight tooth and nail for his company.
A Most Violent Year has received acclaim from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 90%, based on 102 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "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."[20] Metacritic gave the film a score of 81 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "universal acclaim"
Chicago Sun-Times
Richard Roeper
Jan 15, 2015
100
Nearly every scene in A Most Violent Year is pitch perfect. Chandor the writer comes across as a big fan of David Mamet’s, and Chandor the director invokes stylistic touches reminiscent of Sidney Lumet, among others, but Chandor is no cover artist.
New York Daily News
Joe Neumaier
Dec 30, 2014
100
Chandor (“All is Lost”) has made a movie that quietly but ferociously immerses us in a time and place, with atmosphere done in minimal yet evocative strokes.
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
Jan 15, 2015
75
A Most Violent Year, then, is something of a science experiment, with Abel the good rat trying to make it to the other side of the maze, uneaten and in full possession of the cheese. In its weaker moments, the movie struggles to get out of the lab. At its best, it reminds us that the maze is as big as the world and as timely as today.
TheWrap
Alonso Duralde
Nov 6, 2014
91
The pacing, the performances (Albert Brooks is a stand-out as Abel's lawyer), and every facet of the production serves the story and the film's larger ideas.
Overall I would rate this movie a 5 out of 10 because it was a bit slow to unfold and it was not the kind of mobster movie I have seen in the past or expected However, the characters really meshed and although Able played the leading role there were several other strong character roles. At the end of the day Able really is a hero and we all need a hero now and again.
A Most Violent Year is at box offices next Friday January 30. We were lucky to receive 2 free tickets from Set during the winter of 1981 -- statistically one of the most crime-ridden of New York City's history -- A MOST VIOLENT YEAR is a drama following the lives of an immigrant and his family as they attempt to capitalize on the American Dream, while the rampant violence, decay, and corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built.
Oscar Issac stars in the lead role of Able Morales, an immigrant who has been in the oil industry for years. His business is at the point of expansion even while his company is being targeted both by the DA's office and by rival companies.Able runs a lig
Jessica Chastain plays Able's wife and book keeping business partner. While Anna sits back and lets Able run the show she runs him. She is as determined as he is to protect their family and all that they have worked for by whatever means necessary. While Able believes he has run the company ligit and by the books all of these years, his wife has been skimming the accounts and robbing the company all of these years. She has accumulated a nice little nest egg over the years. Anna grew up in a mob family and with a currupt father. She is like a gangster princess who acts like a lady on the outside and is as cold as iced on the inside.
Able, being of Spanish decent himself has fought long and hard to build up a successful oil business. He is married to Anna, whose own father was a mobster within the industry. In 1981 in New York City the oil industry was just one of many corrupt industries. Able is determined to expand on his business with righteousness while being somewhat naive about the not so innocent role others close to him may play in expanding the business. He makes a deal to purchase river fro land that already has oil storage units and puts his life saving in cash (40 percent) down on the property and he has 30 days to come up with the rest. Unaware that his wife has been smuggling company money for years as a way to protect her family he decides to meat with the DA who has been investigating his company for 2 years. The DA is about to change Able with 14 or more counts including several serious charges. Because of the charges that are coming to light the bank backs out of the loan agreement and Able is left scrambling to come up with 1.5 mil or lose the deposit he already paid.
The more interesting and side story unwraps around Elyes Gable who plays Julian, one of the company drivers and is of Spanish decent. He is attacked, beaten, and his truck full of oil is stolen. As this side story unfolds he asks Able if Able thinks he is ready to go into sales and Able says no. Julian has a family to support and needs to work. He is terrified thought and feels like he needs to protect himself. He arms himself with a gun and heads off with his first truck of oil since he was robbed. At the end of the day he is taken by Able to meet with the police and to turn himself in. He decides to go on the run instead. He says he cannot live with his mistakes of the past.Able tries to remind him to forget the past and look to the future, the changes, the possibilities, but sadly it is to late for Julian.One haul in one day has changed the rest of Julian's life for the worse.He cannot face life as a criminal when Able has fought so harm to walk the straight and narrow.
Business Insider 's Brett Arnold wrote that the movie "may be slow, but it's never dull." Having read a review that said the movie was one of mobsters and gangsters I thought the movie would be quite different then it was. Able was much a gentleman throughout the movie and his character maintained integrity ( honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.). While the movie is not shoot them up gangster style, Able does leave fear with his competitors. He is certainly brave and willing to fight tooth and nail for his company.
A Most Violent Year has received acclaim from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 90%, based on 102 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "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."[20] Metacritic gave the film a score of 81 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "universal acclaim"
Chicago Sun-Times
Richard Roeper
Jan 15, 2015
100
Nearly every scene in A Most Violent Year is pitch perfect. Chandor the writer comes across as a big fan of David Mamet’s, and Chandor the director invokes stylistic touches reminiscent of Sidney Lumet, among others, but Chandor is no cover artist.
New York Daily News
Joe Neumaier
Dec 30, 2014
100
Chandor (“All is Lost”) has made a movie that quietly but ferociously immerses us in a time and place, with atmosphere done in minimal yet evocative strokes.
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
Jan 15, 2015
75
A Most Violent Year, then, is something of a science experiment, with Abel the good rat trying to make it to the other side of the maze, uneaten and in full possession of the cheese. In its weaker moments, the movie struggles to get out of the lab. At its best, it reminds us that the maze is as big as the world and as timely as today.
TheWrap
Alonso Duralde
Nov 6, 2014
91
The pacing, the performances (Albert Brooks is a stand-out as Abel's lawyer), and every facet of the production serves the story and the film's larger ideas.
Overall I would rate this movie a 5 out of 10 because it was a bit slow to unfold and it was not the kind of mobster movie I have seen in the past or expected However, the characters really meshed and although Able played the leading role there were several other strong character roles. At the end of the day Able really is a hero and we all need a hero now and again.