Review: The High Cost of Living

A scene from 'The High Cost Of Living'. Courtesy Kinosmith.

There’s no nicer way to put this — The High Cost of Living is a big crock of shit. Technically it’s far from being a bad movie, but the story is so ludicrous there was no plausible way I could connect with it. And I tried really hard to find something about it to connect with. I wanted to feel emotional about what was happening on the screen. I wanted to care. No dice. The only feeling I had was anger over how anyone thought an audience would buy into this tripe.

The film tells the story of an American drug dealer living in Montreal (played by Zach Braff) and the pregnant woman (played by Isabelle Blais) he hits with his car in a drunken stupor and leaves on the street. Suffering with guilt about it, he tracks her down, learns she lost the baby, and befriends her. And this is what makes me so angry about The High Cost of Living. We are now supposed to like this clown and cheer for these two to fall in love. Really? He killed her baby and then weaseled his way into her life! He is the lowest form of life imaginable. How does one get over that, either onscreen or off? You don’t! That’s why the movie fails so badly.

I see what writer-director Deborah Chow was aiming for, but her inexperience behind the camera, and apparently with life in general, shows through bright and loud with The High Cost of Living. The hip soundtrack and constantly moving camera don’t fit either and would have been better used with a different script. My recommendation for Chow is to study films that deal with dramatic plot structure (such as the recent release Rabbit Hole) before trying to break into this genre.

Not to be completely a downer, I do give props to Blais and Braff for delivering fine performances. Unfortunately neither of them had enough to work with to save the dreck they were starring in.

The High Cost of Living opens April 22 in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg.

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