There are spoilers.
After reading "The Year of the Most Violent", I also read a lot of comments. Everyone mentioned that aber is a law-abiding businessman. I basically agree with this description (he is a businessman with no evidence of illegality), but I doubt aber's motives.
If the silt is out of the soil, if it is not dyed, I will say that I must know what the silt looks like. Aber’s father-in-law is the boss of the gang, why didn’t he get help from the gang after he was bullied? When the truck was robbed, he told his wife not to tell her father and brother. If a robber enters the house, he is determined not to buy a gun or ask a security company? Why is aber so scared? After thinking about it, there is only one reason. The district attorney is staring at him. He doesn't want to have a handle in the hands of the prosecutor. Why can't I fall into the hands of others? There is no explanation in the video. Merchants are profitable. From the perspective of interest, aber may feel that the price paid by others will be much higher than that of being harassed or stolen. I guess that aber doesn't want to be the kind of businessman who depends on power and becomes a politician cash machine?
Therefore, the biggest principle for aber, who walks on the edge of the law to do business, is that he cannot be caught—not that he cannot break the law, but that he cannot be caught for evidence. There are two levels here. The first company violated the law and made false accounts, so he had to transfer the accounts when he checked his home, so that the prosecutors could not find out. But he has a back hand, second, the false accounting is made by his wife. In case of the worst outcome, he can still keep himself.
This kind of inner play of Aber is my speculation, but it is not without evidence. Throughout the show, he has been pretending to be a decent businessman. But on the edge of the desperate cliff, when his wife gave out the small vault check, he finally couldn't play anymore. He has accepted this life-saving straw in his heart, but he must ask, is this check safe? If I take it out, I won’t be caught by anyone.
As a result, aber’s principle of dealing with matters becomes clear: aber should be a person who looks innocent, has no handle, and is not blackmailed. The next question is, why is aber so afraid of being caught? How terrible can it be blackmailed by a prosecutor? Is it more scarier than family members being threatened by guns?
Think about it, this is true. Stealing oil, assaulting employees, and intimidating are all minor injuries. You can make a profit from doing a big business. But once you are blackmailed by the prosecutor, the endless tribute is in the hands of others, and it is also possible to ask you to close the door and go to jail at any time. OK.
So, who is the most violent here? Violence is the most primitive force. Then there is power, backed by a gun. Entering a capital society, capital is also a coercive force, but with a veil of warmth: it is better to be driven by money to work than being pointed at the head by a gun.
At the end of the film, I can’t like it anymore. Everyone praised blocking the bullet hole and praised +1. But I want to mention the district attorney even more. This old fox, who has always been alive and well, loves to ignore it, and looks like a bird focused on investigating the case. In the end, he finally revealed his tail. He wants to form an alliance with the largest oil company in the region. This is of course a political alliance. Why didn't the prosecutor stare at aber at first? Because aber is bigger (his lawyer laughed at himself at the beginning and said it was an honor). What did the prosecutor stare at him for? The ending is exposed. It is not an industry story for shit, it is pure extortion (so blackmail the boss of the industry). In the end, why did the prosecutor ask for peace again? This is the most exciting place. When you emerge, he will step on you, when you emerge and become a mountain, he will climb you again. Money works! Aber really realized his fxxx American dream.
Aber succeeded. He became the largest oil distributor in Manhattan. The company will grow bigger and bigger. Subordinates will naturally do the measurement, accounting, and taxation. He doesn't know it. He began to have the right to speak in the local political arena. He has an alliance in the judiciary. I didn't see the blood plasma in the whole film, nor did I hear a few gunshots (it would be even better if there was no sound), but the two coercive forces of power and capital fought for two hours and finally merged. Aber, who doesn't want to rely on power, finally leans on power in a decent way.
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