Response #2 Dirty Oil

New Yorker review of A Most Violent Year

                In David Denby’s New Yorker review of A Most Violent Year, Denby projects his authority on the subject in the second paragraph. He gives a background of Chandor’s family and a previous film that Chandor directed. “His first feature, “Margin Call” (2011), was by far the best - the savviest and most emotionally resonant – of the films and TV dramas devoted to the financial crisis of 2008” (Denby 2015).  Denby goes on in this paragraphs to say how Chandor’s father influenced how he directed and masterfully blended together performances from actors like Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto and more. Denby tries to establish his authority and credibility in this paragraph and he definitely accomplishes that goal. This is not the only part that makes Denby an authority on this movie.

                Later on in the review, Denby’s knowledge of the film world becomes extremely apparent. “Bradford Young’s cinematography captures the yellowish early-morning light when the drivers set out, but, at times, the wide shots make the movie feel distant; it lacks both the visual excitement that Martin Scorsese or David Fincher would have built into it and the momentum and the rhythm that David O. Russell would have provided” (Denby 2015).  This shows that Denby is well versed in cinematography and can use that knowledge to analyze the films he watches. Denby very clearly projects his authority in this review on multiple occasions, not just the one’s mentioned here.