A Most Violent Year

If you want a crime drama that treats its mystery as more than a puzzle, A Most Violent Year is available in Australia on Amazon Prime Video and Stan, and in the US on HBO Max Amazon Channel and YouTube TV right now. It says what it needs to say in one sitting, no filler. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Watch Oscar Isaac work — the performance is a masterclass in restraint. Put it on tonight on Amazon Prime Video and see for yourself.

A Most Violent Year arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. The plotting in A Most Violent Year is tight enough that the twists feel earned rather than assembled. A thriller set in New York City during the winter of 1981, statistically one of the most violent years in the city's history, and centered on the lives of an immigrant and his family trying to expand their business and capitalize on opportunities as the rampant violence, decay, and corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built. Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2014. What makes A Most Violent Year hold up is that the resolution matters less than how the characters get there. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Crime and mystery fans will find exactly what they are after in A Most Violent Year. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. A contained runtime means every scene is doing real work. Oscar Isaac anchors it, but the writing does the real work. If you are going to commit to one crime drama this month, make it this one.