10. A Most Violent Year

Director: J.C. Chandor

Release date: February 26, 2015

You could be forgiven for thinking A Most Violent Year is a crime drama full of bloodshed, but writer-director J.C. Chandor’s impressive third feature relies more on intricate characterisation and thematic subtlety than it does shoot-outs.
It is the constant threat of violence that pervades this tense thriller set in the tumultuous New York City of 1981, a decaying society in which honest self-made businessman Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac), is attempting to grow his heating oil company.

But being a man of morals in a corrupt world proves decidedly difficult for Morales, as he finds himself confronted on a series of fronts, most notably the District Attorney’s office and gun-toting oil thieves.

J.C. Chandor has crafted a memorable and atmospheric tale that inverts the bloody rise of Tony Montana in Brian de Palma’s Scarface, presenting a tenacious immigrant protagonist that wants to reach the top as a law-abiding citizen.