After wowing critics and audiences alike last year with his role in the Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis, Oscar Isaac is quickly becoming one of the most sought after stars in Hollywood — a rise that has landed him a place in J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But before jetting off to a galaxy far, far away, Isaac has another, more drama-oriented role ahead of him in J.C. Chandor’s A Most Violent Year, which recently debuted a new two-minute clip that effectively justifies the actor’s place among the Oscar buzz.
In the footage, Isaac’s character educates some potential employees on the etiquette he wants them to exude as part of his ambitious oil heating company. Set within the Big Apple during the winter of 1981, A Most Violent Year is a tale of love, violence and ultimately, the fabled American Dream, as Isaac’s Abel runs into problem after problem as the acclaimed drama unfolds.
Meanwhile, his other half Anna (played here by Jessica Chastain) takes care of the paperwork and keeps things running as smoothly as possible, but when David Oyelowo’s Selma — a criminal prosecutor with one eye always trained on the family — suspects the pair of tax evasion and fraud, the business is left in a precarious position.
Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac will go up against A Most Violent Year when J.C. Chandor’s drama opens in select theaters on December 31st, before expanding to a wide release in January, 2015.
Set during the winter of 1981 — statistically one of the most crime-ridden of New York City’s history — A MOST VIOLENT YEAR is a drama following the lives of an immigrant and his family as they attempt to capitalize on the American Dream, while the rampant violence, decay, and corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built.