Albert Brooks Will Join ‘A Most Violent Man’

We reported last week that A24 Films is set to distribute J.C. Chandor’s crime drama A Most Violent Year and today comes news that Albert Brooks has been added to cast.  He will co-star in the film top-lined by Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac from a screenplay by Chandor.  The film takes place in New York circa 1981, one of the most violent years on record and chronicles an immigrant family’s effort to grow their business amidst the backdrop of corrupt city.  Brooks will reportedly play the lawyer to Isaac’s leading character in the film set to be released sometime in 2015, possibly to be courted as an awards contender.

Brooks, who last appeared in film in Judd Apatow’s This is 40, is famously selective about this projects.  As an actor, he received an Oscar nomination for his performance in James L. Brooks’ classic 1987 newsroom dramedy Broadcast News and reached a certain cult status with his about-face turn in the 2011 thriller Drive.  Aside from A Most Violent Year, Brooks will provide his voice to the animated The Little Prince and reprise his role in Finding Dory, the sequel to the Pixar blockbuster Finding Nemo.

A Most Violent Man marks Chandor’s third feature after debuting his talky, recession-era Wall Street film Margin Call at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.  The success of that feature netted Chandor a writing Oscar nomination and the cache to make last years All is Lost, a nearly wordless survival story starring Robert Redford which earned great acclaim premiering at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.  This marks Chandor’s first period film and perhaps his most ambitious on terms of scale.  The film is set for release in 2015.