A Most Violent Year
Dir: J.C. Chandor
2014
*****
J.C. Chandor's 2011 debut Margin Call was a great exercise in performance and script. His 2013 nautical thriller, All is Lost, was an exercise in suspense, intrigue and cinematography. Key skills among many. Chandor has developed his skills at breakneck speed, he's combined everything that was good about his first two films and has made what I consider one of the best films of the decade so far. A Most Violent Year isn't quite a crime drama and it's not quite a gangster style thriller. It's what it would be like if Scarface went legitimate but far more interesting than that sounds. The straight forward twist to the formula is a huge breath of fresh air. J.C. Chandor highlights the difficulties of integrity quite brilliantly but never steeps to cliched shoot-outs or mafia style hi-jinks. The visual direction is nothing short of stunning. It oozes style and panache, each frame looking like a late 70's version of an Edward Hopper painting. Javier Bardem was initially cast as the films lead but was replaced by Oscar Isaac for undisclosed reasons. It's hard to see anyone other than Isaac in the role, his performance is nothing short of immaculate and I'm stunned that he hasn't had every acting award going thrown at him or Chandor. Jessica Chastain is awesome as Isaac's supportive but deceitful wife and Albert Brooks' performance as the pair's attorney gives the film an enormous sense of realism. It was also so nice to see Alessandro Nivola in a short but meaty role and David Oyelowo continues to impress greatly. The levels of intrigue and suspense are through the roof and consistent, even though there is little action of scenes of threat. This is all down to perfect timing and excellent acting. What makes it even more impressive as just how effortless it all seems. Easily one of the best films of 2014, with a maturity I hope other film makers take note of.

Margin Call
Dir: J.C. Chandor
2011
***
Apart from Zachary Quinto's rabbit in the headlight performance and the pointless inclusion of Penn Badgley's character, this is a brilliant example of a stella cast producing stella performances. Sure it simplifies quite a complicated event (I lost count of how many times  someone said 'Tell me in English', for the sake of us simple folk) but it gets to the heart of the matter (our current financial crisis) and it does so very well. It's all too complicated for anyone to understand anyway, surely if people did understand it wouldn't have ever happened. Probably. Anyway, a very impressive debut from J.C. Chandor, and in 2011 a nice return to form for Kevin Spacey I thought. For all it's problems, it is directed smoothly throughout with a level of maturity and style.

All Is Lost
Dir: J.C. Chandor
2013
****
All Is Lost is a great example of how to turn a simple idea into an electric experience. The premise is simple, the dialogue is minimal and for all intents and purposes nothing really happens, at least when you look at it as a whole. The reality is that without words, action, formula etc you are left with the bare bones of a great idea and a fantastic performance. You can fill in the gaps yourself, J.C. Chandor realises that the audience doesn't need to be spoon fed and so refuses to. Isolation and pure loneliness is a hard concept to film but to make a vast ocean seem claustrophobic is a triumph from both the cinematographer and Robert Redford. The sequence of events isn't as contrived as it is in many films of this ilk which was a relief but the final addition of Sharks did make me sigh somewhat but this is only a minor complaint. It's the perfect Lost at Sea film. The ending is brilliantly open to interpretation too but either way I think it was a fine conclusion.