FILM REVIEW: 'A Most Violent Year'

The new film, "A Most Violent Year," surprisingly, isn't what the title suggests. Its violence is cerebral rather than physical. And if you pay close attention, it will grab you on a level that may come as most unexpected.

Set in New York City in 1981, the story reflects the menacing mood that pervaded at the time. Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac of "Inside Llewyn Davis") is the son of immigrants who has found success in the heating oil business. Wife Anna (Jessica Chastain), whose gangster father used to own the business, is Abel's ferocious ally. Just when Abel is about to close the most lucrative deal of his career, all hell breaks loose.

His truck drivers are being beaten and hijacked. His salesmen are attacked. The bank backs down on his loan. And he's being indicted by the D.A. (David Oyelowo who portrayed Dr. King in "Selma") for possible criminal activity. But what bothers Abel the most is that he sees himself as an honorable man, one of integrity who may have to compromise his set of values in order to prevail.

"A Most Violent Year" is writer-director J.C. Chandor's third feature film and his best. "Margin Call" and "All is Lost" were also about losing control but this provocative film is much wider in scale. From the brilliant cinematography of Bradford Young to the sassy score by Alex Ebert, there's excellence abound. A truck chase through a dark tunnel will leave you gasping for air.

Chastain and Isaac are thrilling to watch Their scenes together evoke a dynamic that is loving yet dangerous, simultaneously. She crackles while he simmers. It's almost as though Isaac is channeling Al Pacino's Michael Corleone in his demeanor and duplicity. His ambitious Abel seems to exemplify what Michael had always yearned for — legitimacy. His is a rare and quietly riveting performance.

"A Most Violent Year" is a gangster film with a protagonist who's a pacifist. It examines the concept of there being room for an honest man in a corrupt environment. And it does so with such uncompromising fervor that it's difficult not to love this movie.