A Most Violent Year [review with spoilers]

The title belies the truth of this movie, which is not a super violent mob movie but more of a meditation of restraint during trying circumstances.  I have read some of the criticisms of the film.  Some felt the movie “didn’t go anywhere.” Or, that it failed to live up to the violence that one expects from a movie on this subject.  I would argue that is the point of the film, one man’s struggle with morality in a highly criminal world.

In the first scene we meet Abel Morales, who is running with a Walkman playing Marvin Gaye’s “Make me Wanna Holler.”  It is a fitting anthem for the confusion and hopelessness felt of that era.  The nation was still reeling from the economic crisis of the ‘70’s; the prosperity and corruption that would define the 1980’s hasn’t yet occurred.

The story opens with a Standard Oil truck passing through a tollbooth, but then is quickly hijacked by two armed men who beat the driver. They then toss him onto the busy bridge.  He survives.  Mr. Morales pays him a visit, implores him to be calm and offers his assistance.

There is a meeting between Morales and a group of Hassidic Jews.  Morales wishes to buy their land, which includes a terminal that would allow him to import and store his company’s product, (heating oil).  A deal is made, but the terms are rigid and he must close in thirty days.

The drivers are nervous about the attacks on their trucks.  They wish to arm themselves.  Morales is against this, knowing the violence and liability that would commence would be his responsibility.  The drivers become increasingly unhappy.

The D.A (David Oyelowo; Selma, Interstellar and Lincoln) is preparing to indict Mr. Morales on at least twelve counts, a devastating blow to his business.  Mr. Walsh (Al Brooks) urges Morales to accept a plea deal.  But, Morales stands firm in his conviction that he is not a criminal, having run his business in a moral and responsible way.

Morales made another land deal, the purchase of a mansion outside the City.  In the entryway, two huge cement lamps sway in the wind.  The first night in the new house is eventful.  The dog wakes up Morales and he surveys the house carrying a baseball bat.  He then heads outside in the snow barefoot attempting to catch the prowler.  A man is seen but he escapes.

Inside, his wife Anna, (Jessica Chastain), cleans his wound and then gets angry because she knows he is lying about the threat.  Anna’s father and brother were in the mob, and she wants her husband to do more than run a guy off with a baseball bat; she wants to feel like he would kill to protect her and their family.

The next day, Morales gets an urgent call from Anna.  Their youngest daughter has found a loaded gun in the snow.  (It is near where the prowler was discovered).  Anna manages to get the gun from the girl safely, but it is a chilling scene pregnant with dread.

Mr. Morales and his wife Anna attend a dinner to ease their lender’s concerns, ensuring the deal for expansion funding.  Anna is especially forceful in her arguments for the company’s growth potential.  Abel is eloquent, also assuring them that he is the one to trust with their investment.

One the way home, the couple’s car strikes a buck.  Anna insists that Abel, “put it out of its misery.”  Abel hesitates.  We learn he does not carry a weapon.  (He is not your typical gangster).  Anna shoots the animal twice while Abel considers ending the animal’s life, after his lengthy search for a suitable weapon.

At home, he confronts Anna about the gun and questions if she has a permit.  She says he knows where she got it.  She goes on to say she did it since he doesn’t seem able to protect the family, the way she thinks he should.  Concerned about the possible blow-back on him and their family he takes it from her, calling the ornate small caliber pistol a “whore’s weapon.”  He keeps insisting he can protect his family, but he doesn’t want to resort to violence.

Julian, the truck-jacking victim, is discharged from the hospital.  Mr. Morales gives him a ride home and tells him he is not ready for sales.  He assures him he will have the courage to return to driving when the time comes. 

An intense scene commences between Morales and the new sales trainees for his heating oil business.  One of these trainees is young man named Alex, who chuckles nervously at Mr. Morales’s intensity.  (Ben Rosenfield played Will in Boardwalk Empire).  Morales offers them his advice on closing the deal, “We are not going to be the cheapest option so we have to give them the best service.”

“Stare at them longer than what is comfortable.  The hardest thing to do is to look a man in the eyes and tell him the truth.”  Abel believes this unflinching honesty is his key to success.

Alex is seen entering a home and following his training closely.  Unfortunately, he has encroached on a rival’s territory and is beaten.  Another robbery is occurring, this time Abel is able to catch up with the stolen truck.  A wild chase ensues; eventually the tanker truck enters a subway tunnel and rolls on its side.  The driver is dead.  The other man flees on foot with Abel in hot pursuit.  When the man is caught, it seems likely he will be killed.  Instead Morales asks, “Who do you work for?”  After several blows and no answer, he sets the man free.  As the man stumbles away he tells him that, “ I work for no one” and recently sold a load to Far Rockaway.  That is the key Morales needs to discover which boss has been stealing from him.

The crisis develops as the bank backs out of the loan Morales needs to complete the land deal.  He must now plead with the other “industry leaders” he knows to be corrupt.  In the process, he learns of things his wife has done to ensure their fortune.  

The ending is bittersweet.  Morales has struggled to maintain his code of honor and mostly succeeds.  But, how long will it last before it is threatened again?  It was disappointing some threads of the story seemed to be left unresolved.  David Oyelowe’s character seems underutilized.  We never learn who Anna’s father and brother were, or about their role in her current life.   The heart of this movie is the emotional study of a man and his efforts to do the right thing.  Both Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac give extraordinary performances, in this alternative study of the typical mob movie.