"I'd like to own the things I use" Abel, a Columbia immigrant, is married to Anna whose father owned a heating oil company in New York back in the day and Adel is now running that company. New York is a terrifying place in 1981 but Adel would like to think his hands are clean, that he doesn't need to become a gangster to grow and succeed. He plans on buying a land right by the river on the east side as it will give him access to open waters. He is going be the best in his business once that land is bought and invisible forces around him are not going to let that happen.

"A most violent year" is a film about the nature of American capitalism and the dream that comes with it if you win it. that dream doesn't come without a cost however. Abel thinks that he has learned how to operate within this system. he tells his sells people to hold eye contact with the customers in order to gain their artificial trust. He'd like to think of himself as a man of integrity and pride but the game he is playing is not going to allow it. He is soon going to feel the punch in his face as he chooses tea over coffee.

This is not an original story where the idea of the American dream is scrutinized and show to be deeply flawed. but J.C. Chandor chooses a very interesting angle and style to approach it. It contains very interesting and intense moments within that are cinematically perfect, but as a whole, the film lacks a certain element to bring it all together. It felt like a film that would leave a deep impact, but it ended being a forgettable experience: J.C. Chandor's least effective work in his debut trilogy.