The High Cost of Living
Bilingual film set in Montreal, “The High Cost of Living” is an intimate work served by actors generally credible and a plot that starts out in force to disappoint somewhat thereafter. This is not a reason to miss the boat.
Henry (Zach Braff) is a drug dealer who has committed a serious mistake when his car overturned a pregnant woman (Isabelle Blais) and it has not assisted. Devastated by the sudden loss of her baby, Nathalie gradually distanced herself from her boyfriend (Patrick Labbe). Unable to live with his guilt on his conscience, the young man tries to make contact with the victim …
The attractive Canadian trials increasingly invade the Quebec market. After the very good “Daydream Nation” last week, up to “The High Cost of Living”, the debut feature from director Deborah Chow. He describes the murky environment of man and the atmosphere much more tender of the pregnant woman. An introduction is quickly enthralled.
The accident occurs and the story slows somewhat. This is where the characters have the latitude to make the thickness. The fates become brittle and break up. Beings are confronted with the vagaries of chance and their decisions can sometimes turn against them. In seeking to relieve the mind, Henry will eventually involve other innocent people in his game that will not be without consequence.
This interesting psychological study, however, hit a wall of implausibility. In trying to rejuvenate by cutting to the outside world, the heroine decides to call a man she saw at once … and that proves to be responsible for all her misfortunes. A dramatic device arranged with the guy (or girl) views, which only serves to question the guilt and the need to forgive.
A first misstep that tends to ankylosis the rest of the production, and whose proper staging and the beautiful soundtrack (Controller Patrick Watson and others) can not always find its stride.
The game of the two main actors prevents all turns into heavy melodrama and moralizing. Zach Braff has the makings of a nice bandits and charisma blends harmoniously with the strong screen presence of Isabelle Blais. The duo made a lot of shade to the other characters in single-function, whose selfish boyfriend (Patrick Labbe mode “Life, life”, but without empathy), the best friend obsessed with children (Anick Lemay) and Detective service (Pierre Gendron).
“The High Cost of Living” is a title worth engaging and satisfying the displacement mainly for its themes and the contribution of its two headliners. Want to see what Zach Braff and Isabelle Blais in a lighter. And why not a romantic comedy?
