An excellent cast can't quite take this up to the league it aspires to; for a mob movie, it's more on the intimate rather than epic end of the genre. It tells the story of a couple who seem to be in over their heads in trying to establish themselves in a New York that's experiencing it's most violent year on record and that's in the grip of mob interests. The problem is that the film can't quite decide which side of the story to give most airtime to - the mob business or the story of a couple under pressure, struggling to prove themselves and stay alive. The latter seems more interesting to me - the superb Jessica Chastain seems more decisive and competent than her onscreen husband who can probably sense that truth at an instinctive level, hence not allowing her to step into the leadership role she could and should be in. Only once in the film (when a dying animal is put out of its misery) does she take the bull by the horns, and then it's a shock to him - one which angers him. But this story is given less room to breathe, pulsing below the surface, pulsing below the surface and occasionally being allowed up for air. It's gripping, and the film ends on an intriguing note - but there's the sense that we could and should have had more of the dynamics of the couple at the heart of this film that would have elevated the film to greater heights.