The most immediately noticeable aspects of "A Most Violent Year" are the cold atmospherics: The film is set in the winter of 1981 New York City, and it plays up both the visual and mood elements of that cold to the maximum. In addition to the very beautiful scenery (one scene on a frozen field with a spooky purple sky overhead and the skyscrapers of Manhattan in the background is especially memorable), the characters, cinematography, and script are also quite on the icy side - all to the good of the film.