Most screenplays use the opening pages to establish the world of the movie. Writer/director J.C. Chandor uses the first page of his script to present cold, hard data. He hits you with the staggering numbers of murders, forcible rapes, violent crimes, aggravated assaults and more from New York City, 1981. This is the world where Chandor sets his tale of corruption and morality as he examines a year in the life of an immigrant entrepreneur as his business, family and convictions are threatened. If you can't wait to see the film when it is released in the U.S. at the end of the year, you can now read the screenplay, thanks to A24.

First, here's the trailer for the film:


J.C. Chandor certainly doesn't shy away from complex tales or ambitious projects. His debut feature Margin Call turned the financial crisis of 2008 into a taut thriller, revolving entirely around heavy dialogue scenes and morally dubious characters. The film not only proved the financial viability of the day-and-date theatrical/VOD model, but also landed Chandor an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay. Then Chandor immediately tacked away from all of that dialogue for the bare bones tale of All is Lost. At a mere 32 pages with essentially no dialogue, Chandor demonstrated that he could tell a gripping story purely through visuals. With A Most Violent Year, Chandor returns to the world of money and corruption in New York City, but this time with a specific focus on the influence of the surrounding violence on his characters' lives and choices.

Here's a link to the screenplay, thanks to A24:

If you missed our earlier posts about screenplays available for free, legal download this awards season, check them out here. Titles include:

  • Gone Girl
  • The Fault in Our Stars
  • St. Vincent
  • Get on Up
  • The Theory of Everything
  • The Boxtrolls
  • Boyhood
  • Birdman
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel
  • Wild
  • Belle
  • Calvary
  • Locke
  • Kill the Messenger
  • Dear White People
  • The Imitation Game

As always, please use these screenplays for educational purposes only, and don't wait to download the scripts as we never know when the distributors will take them off the Internet. We'll post more screenplays here as more distributors make them available online for free, legal downloads.

Source: A24 Awards