There was no real surprise in this morning’s announcement that J.C. Chandor‘s A Most Violent Year will have its World Premiere on Thursday, November 6, as the Opening Night Gala of 2014 AFI Festival. It, along with the likes of Clint Eastwood‘s American Sniper and Rupert Wyatt‘s The Gambler seemed like the best bets to open and/or premiere at the fest and I still wouldn’t be surprised to see the other two added shortly.
“J.C. Chandor has put together a remarkable crime drama, which is also an immersive period piece and morality tale that resonates on an emotional level,” said AFI Fest director said Jacqueline Lyanga. “Chandor is a talented director who takes risks with every film that he makes and A Most Violent Year is no exception. It is a great film with which to open the festival and begin the audience’s eight-day journey through a landscape of extraordinary contemporary cinema.”
A Most Violent Year is a thriller set in New York City during the winter of 1981, statistically one of the most violent years in the city’s history. The film follows 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.
The film is set to hit theaters on December 31 and stars Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, Albert Brooks and Alfred Molina co-star. I’ve included the recently released trailer directly below.
