Movie Review: At Any Price
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Zachary Mandell
May 16, 2013, 8:24:04 PM5/16/13
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Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Zachary Mandell
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Article Title: Movie Review: At Any Price
Author: Zachary Mandell
Word Count: 806
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=1839783&ca=Entertainment
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1839783
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1839783
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
Rating: R (language, sexual content including a strong graphic image)
Length: 105 minutes
Release Date: April 24, 2013
Directed by: Ramin Bahrani
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid) is an aging man who is beginning to wonder what exactly his legacy will be before he retires. He grew up in a sleepy Iowa town as a third-generation farmer and salesman for Whipple Seeds, which sells genetically-modified seeds to area farmers. He wanted the same for his sons Grant (Patrick Stevens) and Dean (Zac Efron), but neither of the boys seems interested in following in their father's footsteps in "At Any Price."
Grant went off to college and decided he wanted to see more of the world, so he dropped out to go climb mountains in Argentina. Dean stayed a little closer to home, competing in local stock car races in the hopes of one day getting into the NASCAR circuit. Henry doesn't understand his boys and has a rather contentious relationship with Dean, who doesn't seem to like his dad very much. Henry puts on a brave face and tries to act like a devoted and secure family man, even as he cheats on wife Irene (Kim Dickens) with the younger Meredith (Heather Graham). His fake smile is also hiding the fact that he is in danger of losing ground in the seed selling business to a rival, which makes him just desperate enough to make a few shady deals that could land him in hot water with the law.
Meanwhile, Dean despises his dad for all the mistakes he has made over the years, but soon finds himself making some of the same mistakes. The one thing in life he never wanted to be was his father, but if he isn't careful, he may become just like him. Once this harsh realization hits, he has to find a way to change the trajectory of his life, just as Henry's life may also be changing. As Dean tries to make a better future for himself, Henry's future is very much in jeopardy due to his backroom dealings. Will the two reconcile and find a greater appreciation for each other, or will they both continue to squander once promising lives at any price?
"At Any Price" is a well-written, well-acted film that is beautiful to watch. The beauty isn't just in the story or performances, but in the way that the Iowa background is used to perfection. Cinematographer Michael Simmonds captures the landscape in a way that is visually stunning to see, whether viewers have actually been to Iowa or not. The camera seems to constantly be floating over the scenic land, even as it is focused in on the characters as they have their moments of quiet desperation. It's beautiful work from Simmonds, who has worked with director Ramin Bahrani on all of his previous four films.
Quaid turns in a very solid and affecting performance as the lead, who serves as both the protagonist and occasional antagonist. He is as much an earnest farmer trying to adjust to a rapidly-changing agricultural marketplace as he is a salesman who will occasionally engage in a few seedy (pun intended) deals in order to get a leg up on the hungry competition. Efron is equal to the task as his angst-ridden son who might have taken up almost any profession as long as he didn't have to work with his dad. The two play off each other really well, which could be because Efron is as handsome and charismatic as Quaid is. In a lot of ways, he is a younger Quaid with equally good acting skills and the same kind of devilish grin that melts women's hearts.
Director Bahrani's films tend to focus on the American Experience as seen through the eyes of immigrants from various parts of the world. In "At Any Price," he takes a huge departure from his normal focus in order to show how the country's landscape has changed through the eyes of people who were born and raised here. There may be no better place to do this than the Midwest, where traditions and values are still very much the norm. As modern comforts like a forty-eight row seed planter clash with the old way of doing things in the film's small town setting, it becomes a metaphor for what is going on all over the country. Bahrani presents the characters and situations, but he is careful never to judge or make a pronouncement about which way is right, instead leaving that to the audience to decide. It's a nice, subtle touch that makes one wonder what Bahrani has up his sleeve for his next film now that he has started to break out of his comfort zone.
About The Author: As a long time fan of Hollywood I was able to carve out the perfect career in the entertainment industry by writing initially for celebrity news sites and am now the owner of http://MovieRoomReviews.com
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1839783
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
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Message delivered directly to members of the group:
publish-the...@googlegroups.com
*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Zachary Mandell
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1839783
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1839783
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: Movie Review: At Any Price
Author: Zachary Mandell
Word Count: 806
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=1839783&ca=Entertainment
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1839783
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1839783
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
Rating: R (language, sexual content including a strong graphic image)
Length: 105 minutes
Release Date: April 24, 2013
Directed by: Ramin Bahrani
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid) is an aging man who is beginning to wonder what exactly his legacy will be before he retires. He grew up in a sleepy Iowa town as a third-generation farmer and salesman for Whipple Seeds, which sells genetically-modified seeds to area farmers. He wanted the same for his sons Grant (Patrick Stevens) and Dean (Zac Efron), but neither of the boys seems interested in following in their father's footsteps in "At Any Price."
Grant went off to college and decided he wanted to see more of the world, so he dropped out to go climb mountains in Argentina. Dean stayed a little closer to home, competing in local stock car races in the hopes of one day getting into the NASCAR circuit. Henry doesn't understand his boys and has a rather contentious relationship with Dean, who doesn't seem to like his dad very much. Henry puts on a brave face and tries to act like a devoted and secure family man, even as he cheats on wife Irene (Kim Dickens) with the younger Meredith (Heather Graham). His fake smile is also hiding the fact that he is in danger of losing ground in the seed selling business to a rival, which makes him just desperate enough to make a few shady deals that could land him in hot water with the law.
Meanwhile, Dean despises his dad for all the mistakes he has made over the years, but soon finds himself making some of the same mistakes. The one thing in life he never wanted to be was his father, but if he isn't careful, he may become just like him. Once this harsh realization hits, he has to find a way to change the trajectory of his life, just as Henry's life may also be changing. As Dean tries to make a better future for himself, Henry's future is very much in jeopardy due to his backroom dealings. Will the two reconcile and find a greater appreciation for each other, or will they both continue to squander once promising lives at any price?
"At Any Price" is a well-written, well-acted film that is beautiful to watch. The beauty isn't just in the story or performances, but in the way that the Iowa background is used to perfection. Cinematographer Michael Simmonds captures the landscape in a way that is visually stunning to see, whether viewers have actually been to Iowa or not. The camera seems to constantly be floating over the scenic land, even as it is focused in on the characters as they have their moments of quiet desperation. It's beautiful work from Simmonds, who has worked with director Ramin Bahrani on all of his previous four films.
Quaid turns in a very solid and affecting performance as the lead, who serves as both the protagonist and occasional antagonist. He is as much an earnest farmer trying to adjust to a rapidly-changing agricultural marketplace as he is a salesman who will occasionally engage in a few seedy (pun intended) deals in order to get a leg up on the hungry competition. Efron is equal to the task as his angst-ridden son who might have taken up almost any profession as long as he didn't have to work with his dad. The two play off each other really well, which could be because Efron is as handsome and charismatic as Quaid is. In a lot of ways, he is a younger Quaid with equally good acting skills and the same kind of devilish grin that melts women's hearts.
Director Bahrani's films tend to focus on the American Experience as seen through the eyes of immigrants from various parts of the world. In "At Any Price," he takes a huge departure from his normal focus in order to show how the country's landscape has changed through the eyes of people who were born and raised here. There may be no better place to do this than the Midwest, where traditions and values are still very much the norm. As modern comforts like a forty-eight row seed planter clash with the old way of doing things in the film's small town setting, it becomes a metaphor for what is going on all over the country. Bahrani presents the characters and situations, but he is careful never to judge or make a pronouncement about which way is right, instead leaving that to the audience to decide. It's a nice, subtle touch that makes one wonder what Bahrani has up his sleeve for his next film now that he has started to break out of his comfort zone.
About The Author: As a long time fan of Hollywood I was able to carve out the perfect career in the entertainment industry by writing initially for celebrity news sites and am now the owner of http://MovieRoomReviews.com
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1839783
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
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