A Most Violent Year

It's sad that distributors of DVD and Blu-ray discs don't consider that the deaf and hard of hearing would like to watch the special features they put on their releases. It's almost as if their consideration has limits. This release does have English subtitles for the main feature, but the extras have none, including the 45 minute making of feature. Having enjoyed the film, I wanted to find out more about the cast and how the film came to be made, but Icon, like many other companies including sadly Criterion, don't consider me. What is the point of putting subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing on the main feature but not bothering when it comes to the extras? Surely it wouldn't cut into your profit margins too much to go that extra mile.

Filmed the style of a seventies slow burner and posing the question but set in the most violent year of 1981 - What would Michael Corleone do if he tried to operate within legal parameters? Well, in my mind Abel Morales played by Oscar Issac handles himself in the same vein as a young Al Pacino. His aim to close a major oil deal amidst the heat of the local bureau of investigations and coping with the underhand strategies of his cutthroat competitors. Superbly acted and beautifully filmed. A film to watch and then rewatch to savour the cinematic experience. The title is somewhat misleading in that the violence is marginal or hinted at rather than visibly carried out. But when done it is realistic and dramatic. I thoroughly enjoyed this film as I liked the slow build up and loved the homage which I believe is deliberate to the Godfather films and other films in this era. But be aware this is not a gangster film as such but a portrayal of staying legit when you are pushed to the very edge. Great movie.

Nothing wrong with the acting at all but the plot of this film is just dull from beginning to end. Don't be fooled by the cover (who ever is?) "Echoes of The Godfather", well that is a very bold comparison and I can only think there is another Godfather film in an alternate universe which they are likening it to because it's not the one that I've seen. "Riveting", hardly, slow paced yes, weak storyline, yes. On the technical side, Bluray picture was pretty good, nice and sharp on a big cinema screen. Audio, this is one of those annoying blurays where the sound blares out but once the actual film starts, the dialogue sound level in the film is a little too low although sound quality was overall very good.

Ok folks, just spent two hours of my life watching this film on Prime Video. It is perhaps THE most boring film I have ever watched. Quick plot summary... guy wants to buy warehouse, guy asks other guys for a loan, guy gets loan, guy buys warehouse...roll end credits. I kid you not, the experience left me thinking that these wasted two hours could have been my last two hours on this earth. Actually, I did feel suicidal after watching it so it could literally have been my last two hours of consciousness. No matter, I watched paint dry and it cheered me up.

Very good all round performances by a good ensemble cast make this powerful drama work. A lot happens beneath the surface of the characters in this thriller and with it being an industrial espionage drama it could have become rather staid and dull. It isn't it needs a bit of work to stay with it but has enough thrills, spills and surprises to came the viewer engrossed.

well made although a lot of cuts left a few loose ends. Good story - someone who stands against many forces in order to maintain what he thinks is right. In the end he goes for what is 'most right', in other words he doesn't hold to complete rigidity and is prepared to accept something slightly less than ideal. This is the message of Plato in his Laws.

One of the best crime dramas I've seen for a long time. It very much feels old school in it's style and delivery and you could imagine Al Pacino in the lead role in his younger years. It has an epic feel to it, a slow build tale of one man's struggle to power and Oscar Isaac has the screen presence to deliver such a story. He brings what I would describe as restrained menace to the screen, a man who wants to have it all, who could very easily turn into a gangster and is struggling to stay straight when the city he lives and works in all work against him. Jessica Chastain is also superb, a character who realises what must be done in order to survive, even if that leads her into conflict with the man she is trying to support.

Tried really hard to like it more as like both the leads but just didnt really add up to much and the tension seemed a bit synthetic.