A Most Violent Year (2014)

4/5

JC Chandor's A Most Violent Year takes place in New York City in 1981. A rising oil businessman (Isaac) finds himself at a difficult crossroads. His drivers (Gabel) are being carjacked and he is losing thousands of dollars in stolen oil; the DA (Oyelowo) is looking into his company for criminal misconduct; and he risks losing a $1 million deposit on property after the bank backs out of a loan.

Whether you call it an homage or piracy, the movie takes a number of cues from The Godfather, which I won't enumerate here. But it does it all in a different era; it's learned from its predecessors. It feels like what The Godfather Part III wanted to be.

It is visually and thematically rich, polished and perfected by studies of the countless gangster movies that came before. Soft sepia tones belie an unspoken intensity and slow pacing hides an unrelenting momentum. This movie defies expectations--violence is not the same as action--but rewards the patient viewer. The powerful finale perfectly encapsulates the entire movie: a quiet moment of reflection punctuated by a gut-wrenching act of violence, a striking visual composition with enormous emotional resonance, and a morally ambiguous denouement to leave the saga ever unraveling.

The acting is spectacular--there is nuance and subtlety, even in loud moments of vitriol and rage--and the cinematography is breathtaking. But it is not a perfect movie. Some early scenes felt off kilter; a few sideplots felt unnecessary and unresolved; and parts of the movie felt boring. But on the whole it's a much more mature project compared to Chandor's earlier Margin Call, and it's definitely a film worth watching.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2937898/

Margin Call (2011)

4/5

Margin Call chronicles the beginning of the recent economic downfall from the point of view of the insiders within Lehman Brothers who first discovered the impending collapse. Although the script occasionally feels repetitive or simplistic, it is sharp, incisive, and filled with thematics that span far more than this particular financial crisis. It is augmented by a spectacular cast with exceptional performances. It's been a while since I've seen Kevin Spacey in such a phenomenal role, and he does not disappoint here. He brings maturity, subtlety, and humility to a towering character. He delivers his lines with precision, power, and nuance.

The director manages to turn the talk-heavy screenplay into a thrilling, energetic film (although perhaps punctuated by a few too many shots of shocked faces). He makes investment banking vernacular exciting, focusing on power plays to allow us to witness experts do what they do best. For me, nothing is as awesome as seeing professionals perform, and we get all that and more in Margin Call. Highly recommended.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1615147/