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The High Cost of Living Review

The script lags, and never really grips you as it should, and while Blais is intriguing as Nathalie, her character often comes off as nieve, and somewhat too trusting.

By FilmSnob Reviews.comPublished 7 years ago 2 min read
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Title: The High Cost of LivingMPAA Rating: UnratedDirector: Deborah ChowStarring: Zach Braff, Isabelle BlaisRuntime: 1 hr 32 mins

Nathalie (Blais) is a young pregnant woman in Montreal excited for the birth of her baby which is due soon. On one faithful night, she is going out for a walk. Simultaneously drug dealer Henry (Braff) is driving distracted. When suddenly Nathalie is struck by Henry’s car. This accident causes Nathalie’s unborn child into a stillborn state. Henry, however, left the scene of the crime, because of his state of drunkenness. As her life is falling apart Nathalie runs into Henry who is searching for his victim. They form a bond. Little does Nathalie know that this new friend of hers is the one that turned her life on its head in the first place. All the while the fuzz is closing in on Henry for the dirty deeds that he has done.

What We Think?

Though it is wonderfully shot, and its cinematography beautiful THCOL suffers from a problem in substance, rather than style. The script lags, and never really grips you as it should, and while Blais is intriguing as Nathalie, her character often comes off as nieve, and somewhat too trusting. And while the materials subject manner is by no means unrealistic I think it suffers from being too close to harsh reality. Often times you don’t like Henry nor do you have any sort of desire too. Never is there a moment when you can truly feel happy while watching this film. It’s as depressing a cinematic endeavor as can be seen either independently or in wide release. However low the film might make you feel emotional, your eyes will be pleased however with the shots director Chow chose, and they’ll be fond of the movies use of Montreal as a visual palette.

Our Grade

C. However imperfect the material may, in fact, be, a combination of Braff’s charm, and Blais’ chemistry make a depressing subject matter, and less than happy script a somewhat enjoyable watch. If not for Chow’s cunning direction, and the aforementioned performances by the lead actors this is an indie that could’ve fallen flat on its face. Instead, we get a pseudo-heart wrenching yet ultimately flawed story of tragedy.

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FilmSnob Reviews.com

Constantly standing on the edge of Summer and always waiting for the next big thing. I love film so let's talk about some moving pictures yeah?

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