It’s the winter of 1981 during one of its tumultuous years as an immigrant businessman is trying to buy a refinery as he finds himself being targeted by competitors where many of his trucks are stolen as it leads to harrowing acts of violence. It is a film that explore a moment in time just as this man who had worked his way to become an American citizen as he owns a small heating oil company as he’s managed to become successful and with a wife and family but he is also an idealist who wants to do things the right way. J.C. Chandor’s screenplay follows a month in the life of Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) who is about to embark on a major deal that would expand his empire but the theft of trucks by hoodlums threaten this deal as well as questions about his business dealings where an assistant district attorney in Lawrence (David Oyelowo) believes Abel is hiding something.
While Abel’s wife Anna (Jessica Chastain) is looking into their books and their attorney Andrew Walsh (Albert Brooks) is trying to handle all of the legal issues. Both Anna and Andrew urge Abel to fight fire with fire as they suspect their competitors are involved as it lead to the assault of one of their drivers in Julian (Elyes Gabel) and one of their young salesman in Alex (Ben Rosenfield). Abel however is convinced that violence isn’t the answer as he knows Lawrence is after him while he is trying to ask his competitors to stop the violence unaware that these hired thugs are just trying to hurt his business. Then there’s Julian who would have another encounter with thugs that lead to trouble where Abel asks Julian’s wife Luisa (Catalina Sandino Moreno) about his whereabouts as his activities would threaten everything Abel is hoping to have.
Chandor’s direction definitely echoes a lot of the films of the 1970s in terms of the crime drama as it play into this man trying to expand his small business empire into something bigger but without trouble and violence during a period of violence in New York City. Shot on location in New York City and areas around the city, the film does play into this cold winter where there is a lot of chaos that include these trucks being stopped either during traffic jams or coming out of a toll booth. Chandor’s usage of wide and medium shots do play into the scope of the city as well as an intense chase scene during the third act through a tunnel and later into a subway is among these moments in the film where there is a lot of suspense. The film also has these small moments that do play into the drama as it relates to a handgun that one of Abel and Anna’s daughters had found following an attempted attack on Abel that got botched. Chandor also play into the stakes of what Abel is trying to do as this piece of property he acquired and his intentions for it yet he has 30 days to make the down payment or else the owners will sell the property to one of Abel’s competitors.
Chandor also play into this underworld that Abel refuses to be a part of but it is a world that Anna’s father used to be in and it’s a world that Walsh is aware of as he talks to a teamster chief in Bill O’Leary (Peter Gerety) about the need to bear arms which Walsh agrees with but Abel refuses to go into that route. Even as he has to deal with Lawrence where Chandor definitely uses some unique camera angles and medium shots to play into their conversations where it is about power play as Lawrence is just someone that wants to uphold the law but he too is a man of ambition like Abel. The film’s ending is about this idea of what to do to achieve that goal but for someone like Abel who wants to maintain some morals and ideals about doing things without illegal means. There is no such thing as morals and ideals when it comes to running a business and dealing with other competitors as it is also about having it all or having nothing at all. Overall, Chandor crafts an astonishingly eerie yet intense film about an immigrant businessman trying to expand his empire in 1981 New York City amidst an era of violence.
Cinematographer Bradford Young does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography from the usage of natural lighting for some scenes in the day to bits of sepia for a few interior/exterior scenes at night including some eerie low-key lighting for the tunnel chase scene. Editor Ron Patane does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some rhythmic cuts to play into the suspense as well as a few intense moments of violence. Production designer John P. Goldsmith, with set decorator Melanie J. Baker and art director Doug Huszti, does amazing work with the look of the lavish home that Abel and Anna live in with their family as well as the offices and places they go to as it play into the early 80s aesthetics. Costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone does fantastic work with the costumes from the designer clothes that Anna wears as well as the suits and expensive winter coat that Abel wears.
Makeup artist Stephanie Pasicov does nice work with the look of Anna from her hairstyle and the makeup that she wears at times to play into the period of the times. Visual effects supervisors Luke DiTommaso, Jason Forster, and Mark Russell do terrific work with the visual effects as it is largely set-dressing for some of the exteriors to play into the period that is 1981 New York City. Sound designer Steve Boeddeker does superb work with the sound as it help play into the atmosphere as well as add to the suspense including scenes such as the chases and the tunnel scene. The film’s music by Alex Ebert is wonderful for its low-key music score with some orchestral flourishes that play into the drama and bits of suspense while music supervisor Linda Cohen creates a soundtrack that is largely low-key that includes a song from Marvin Gaye early in the film and a classical piece.
The casting by Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Jerry Adler and Quinn Meyers as a couple of Hasidic businessmen who are making a deal with Abel, Ashley Williams as Lawrence’s deputy Lange, the trio of Daisy Tahan, Taylor Richardson, and Giselle Eisenberg as Abel and Anna’s daughters, Nick Bailey and Jenilyn Rodriguez as a couple of sales recruits, Linda Marie Larson as Abel’s secretary Debbie, David Margulies and Annie Funke as a couple of business people whom Abel asks for a loan, Ben Rosenfeld as a young sales recruit who gets mugged by a thug, Pico Alexander as Abel’s younger brother Elias, Peter Gerety as a teamster manager in Bill O’Leary, Elizabeth Marvel as a party guest at a birthday party for one of Abel and Anna’s daughters, Christopher Abbott as a thug that Abel confronts late in the film, Glenn Flesher as a competitor that Abel sees at a barbershop, and Catalina Sandino Moreno in a fantastic one-scene performance as Julian’s wife Luisa who is aware of what her husband has done but also the stakes of how it will affect Abel’s business.
Elyes Gabel is superb as the truck driver Julian who gets mugged by muggers and later gets himself in trouble following another confrontation that puts himself and Abel in serious trouble. Alessandro Nivola is excellent as Peter Forente as a competitor of Abel who also has connections with organized crime as he is aware of what is happening to Abel though is cagey about his involvement where he tries to make a deal with Abel that is in his favor. David Oyelowo is brilliant as Lawrence as the assistant DA who is investigating Abel’s activities though he knows that Abel is a good man but has a job to do while he is also an idealist of sorts but is aware of what needs to be done. Albert Brooks is amazing as Abel’s attorney Andrew Walsh as a man who is trying to handle all sorts of business but is also aware of what needs to be done as he is someone who had seen a lot and knows that not everything is clean.
Jessica Chastain is incredible as Anna Morales as Abel’s wife who has been supportive in his ambitions but is also aware that her husband needs to play dirty as she is annoyed by his idealism as she also watches over their books and finances as it’s something she’s done in working with her father. Finally, there’s Oscar Isaac in a phenomenal performance as Abel Morales as an immigrant businessman who owns a heating oil business as he hopes to expand his business only to deal with the chaos and violence that is looming around him as it is this fierce yet calm performance of a man that is just trying to do the right thing only to learn that there is no straight arrow when it comes to ambition.
A Most Violent Year is a tremendous film from J.C. Chandor that features phenomenal leading performances from Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain. Along with its ensemble cast, eerie visuals, and its study of ambition along with its dangers and complexities. It is a film that explores a period in time in New York City that showcases what some will do to get ahead in business and how an immigrant businessman is trying to maintain some morality in a world that is immoral. In the end, A Most Violent Year is a magnificent film from J.C. Chandor.
J.C. Chandor Films: Margin Call - All is Lost - (Triple Frontier) – (Kraven the Hunter) – (The Auteurs #73: J.C. Chandor)
© thevoid99 2021
Written and directed by Brian De Palma, Dressed to Kill is the story of a murder mystery where the woman’s son, her psychiatrist, and a young prostitute try to figure out who killed her. The film isn’t just about a murder mystery but an exploration into the world of eroticism and why a housewife was killed which was partly due to her own sexual desires. Starring Angie Dickinson, Michael Caine, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon, Dennis Franz, and David Margulies. Dressed to Kill is a sexy yet thrilling film from Brian De Palma.
The film revolves the mysterious murder of a housewife in New York City who was killed just after having a tryst with a man she had just met in order to fulfill her own sexual desires. It’s a film that isn’t just a simple whodunit but also a film that explores the world of sex as it relates to certain desires and what people want. At the same time, it also explores the idea of transsexuality where the killer is suspected to be a transsexual as the housewife’s psychiatrist is also treating a transsexual. Once the housewife had been killed where a young hooker is the only witness, she along with the psychiatrist and the housewife’s genius son each to into their own investigation.
Brian De Palma’s screenplay has a unique structure where the first act is about Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) as she is sexually-frustrated with her marriage as she goes to Metropolitan Museum of Arts where she encounters a man she had seen in her fantasy. While it would be fulfilling, it would have some very serious consequences and an eventual outcome that would set the entire mystery to play out. With the prostitute Liz (Nancy Allen) being the sole witness as she would also be an unfortunate suspect due to carrying the murder weapon. The second act is about the mystery where Liz and Kate’s son Peter (Keith Gordon) both do their own investigation where the latter would use his skills in creating gadgets to stake out the office of his mother’s psychiatrist Dr. Elliott (Michael Caine). Dr. Elliott would also be questioned by the police detective Marino (Dennis Franz) who wants access to Dr. Elliott’s files as things become more complicated as it relates to the identity of the killer who is a patient of Dr. Elliott with the name Bobbi.
The character of Bobbi raises a lot of question of transsexuality where Dr. Elliott would reveal to Marino that Bobbi is a man that wants to be a woman as he tries to tell him to not go with this sex change. It adds to this sex of intrigue into the world of sex while there all of these little details that De Palma uses in the script that plays into the dangers of infidelity as well as the world of unprotected sex. In some ways, it is De Palma making a bit of commentary over the drawbacks of the sexual revolution in the age where sexually-transmitted diseases are starting to become public just before the era of AIDS. Even as it is clear that there’s some very strange motives into what goes on in Kate’s sex life as well as the world of sex itself.
De Palma’s direction is very mesmerizing for the way it emphasizes largely on style but allowing every image and scene to matter. The film opens with this very sexy shower scene where Kate is masturbating in a shower as it plays to a fantasy of Kate wanting to have sex with this man. Yet, it then cuts to reality where she is having very unsatisfying sex with her husband where De Palma’s usage of medium shots and close-up play to Kate’s own boredom in her married life. While the film is set in New York City, it is shot largely in Philadelphia with the exception of a few second-unit shots of NYC as it plays into this world of that is quite dangerous where things are becoming nothing as it seen. Even in the world of sex and such where Kate would meet her fantasy man at the museum where it leads to one of the finest sequences in film with this steadicam tracking shot of these two flirtatiously chasing each other in the museum with very sparse dialogue.
It is among some of the finest sequences in film as well as some of the sexual-driven scenes such as Kate having sex with a man in a cab and the aftermath where it’s about the sense of timing and usage of memory. De Palma’s usage of split-screens help play into that sense of memory as well as a sense of intrigue as it relates to the different investigations held by Dr. Elliott and Liz. De Palma’s approach to suspense is very intense such as a sequence where Liz is being chased by Bobbi in the subway as she also makes trouble with a young gang and a major sequence in the third act. Notably a scene where Liz meets Dr. Elliott where she is hoping to get a record of Bobbi’s identity with the help of Peter. The sense of tension and how De Palma would compose some of the scenes where one character would be in the foreground and the other in the background just adds to this sense of style and intrigue over the mystery of who killed this woman. Overall, De Palma creates an unsettling yet rapturous film about a murder mystery involving transsexual and other forays into the world of sex.
Cinematographer Ralf Bode does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography with its soft yet colorful look of some of the interior/exterior scenes at the museum to the eerie scenes set at night as well some unique lighting and textures for some of the interior/exterior scenes set at night. Editor Jerry Greenberg does brilliant work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts, slow-motion, split-screens, and other stylish cuts to play into the suspense and elements of eroticism. Art director Gary Weist and set decorator Gary J. Brink do fantastic work with the look of Dr. Elliott‘s home office as well as the home where Kate and Peter lives in along with the scenes set in the apartment building where Kate would have her tryst.
Costume designer Ann Roth does superb work with the costumes from the clothes that Liz wears to the stylish white dress that Kate wears in the film. Sound editor Dan Sable does nice work with the sound to create some tension in some of the moments of suspense as well as the great usage of cuts and mixing for the museum sequence in the scenes without music. The film’s music by Pino Donaggio is amazing as it is one of the film’s major highlights thanks to its soaring and lush orchestral-based score with its strings to some of the eroticism of the film as well as some more eerie themes for its suspenseful moments.
The casting by Vic Ramos is terrific as it features some notable small performances from David Margulies as a fellow psychiatrist in Dr. Levy, Fred Weber as Kate’s husband Mike, Bill Randolph as a cab driver in a chase scene, William Finley as the voice of Bobbi, and Ken Baker as Kate’s object of desire as the man she would flirt with at the museum. Dennis Franz is superb as the detective Marino who is leading the investigation as he doesn’t trust Liz because of who she is as well as Dr. Elliott because of the information he didn’t want to reveal. Keith Gordon is excellent as Peter Miller as Kate’s son who is an inventor who feels guilty over what happened as he is driven by grief to find out who the killer is as he would also help out Liz in the investigation.
Angie Dickinson is brilliant as Kate Miller as the bored housewife who is sexually-frustrated with her marriage as she would have a tryst with a man who is her ideal fantasy as things would go wrong in its aftermath. Nancy Allen is amazing as Liz Blake as this young prostitute who would witness the murder as she also becomes an unfortunate suspect as she does whatever to help Peter and keep herself out of jail knowing she has done enough trouble in her life. Finally, there’s Michael Caine in a fantastic performance as Dr. Elliott as this psychiatrist who is treating Kate as he learns that one of his patients could be a serial killer who also wants a sex change as it is a very straightforward performance with some unique complexities that makes it very interesting.
Dressed to Kill is a phenomenal film from Brian De Palma. Featuring a great cast as well as some amazing technical feats and Pino Donaggio’s thrilling score. It’s a film that isn’t just a stylish and engaging erotic thriller but also a unique commentary into the downsides of sex and the fallacy of the sexual revolution in the pre-AIDS era. In the end, Dressed to Kill is a spectacular film from Brian De Palma.
Brian De Palma Films: (Murder a la Mod) - (Greetings) - (The Wedding Party) - (Dionysus in ‘69) - (Hi, Mom!) - (Get to Know Your Rabbit) - Sisters - Phantom of the Paradise - Obsession - Carrie - The Fury - (Home Movies) - Blow Out - Scarface - Body Double - (Wise Guys) - The Untouchables - Casualties of War - The Bonfire of the Vanities - Raising Cain - Carlito’s Way - Mission: Impossible - Snake Eyes - Mission to Mars - (Femme Fatale) - The Black Dahlia - (Redacted) - Passion (2012 film) - (Domino (2018 film))
© thevoid99 2015
