New in Theaters: ‘A Most Violent Year’

Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain plot in ‘A Most Violent Year’ (A24)

Sneaking into theaters after the great Christmas rush is J.C. Chandor’sA Most Violent Year. A low-key drama about warring heating-oil firms set in 1981 New York, when murders and violent crime had the city on the verge of collapse, the film and its characters are as controlled and tightly-wound as its setting is chaotic.

A Most Violent Year is playing now in limited release, with some hopes for Oscar nominations to give it mor...