By Mark Cerulli
Last Wednesday, the
red carpet was rolled out on Hollywood Boulevard, the paparazzi were out in
force and the Spiderman and Wonder Woman impersonators had been pushed aside,
at least momentarily, for American Film Institute’s annual film festival.
Cinema
Retro was in da house for writer/director J.C. Chandor’s new crime drama, A Most Violent Year, this year’s opening
night selection. The director introduced
his third film onstage at the Dolby Theater, joined by his distinguished cast
and crew, including Jessica Chastain and DP Bradford Young. Chandor also pointed out where he was sitting
when his screenplay for “Margin Call†(which he also directed) lost out to
Woody Allen’s “Midnight In Paris†in the 2012 Oscar race.
Although
the film’s setting – the cutthroat world of home heating oil doesn’t sound
exciting, it provides the backdrop for Abel Morales, a principled young businessman
(the excellent Oscar Issac) to reach for the American dream – if his
competitors don’t ruin him first! Chandor,
a NJ native, perfectly captured the bone-chilling winter of 1981 as well as the
underbelly of this unglamorous but essential trade. Jessica Chastain was a scene-stealer as Abel’s
beautiful but hard-edged wife, willing to reach into her mob past to protect
their business. Screen veteran Albert
Brooks gives a steady, understated performance as their business partner, totally
unfazed by the industry’s corruption even as the violence starts to spiral out
of control.
A bit drawn out at times,
the film’s strong performances and meticulously crafted early 80s look more
than make up for the slow pace. One
stunning shot occurs early on when the main character looks out over a grimy
industrial property he’s desperately trying to acquire and across the East
River is the 1981 New York skyline complete with the Twin Towers; a sight many a
New Yorker took for granted until they were gone.
After
the credits it was on to the famous Roosevelt Hotel – where Charlie Chaplin and
Mary Pickford used to down cocktails - for an after-party complete with open
bar and unlimited schmoozing but curiously no food. It was a headache-inducing combination that
sent this CR scribe heading off to see another acclaimed Hollywood star, In
& Out Burger!