High Life
Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Stephen Eric McIntyre, Joe Anderson, Rossif Sutherland
Rating: 2.5 STARS
The would-be bank robbers in High Life are not just the gang who couldn't shot straight but the gang who couldn't think straight. Their big problem is that they're never actually straight. They're high on cocaine.
High Life is a manic comedy that Toronto playwright Lee MacDougall adapted from his Dora Mavor Moore Award winning play. There's no question he was influenced by Quentin Tarantino both for his convoluted plot and his rapid fire dialogue, a combination that brings out dynamite performances from its four male leads and several supporting cast members.
Timothy Olyphant is Dick, the brains behind the heist plan and they're not bad brains when they're not frying on cocaine. Stephen Eric McIntyre's Bug is a loose cannon who shoots and then asks questions which pose major problems for the gang itself and any bystanders. Joe Anderson is Donnie who fears the abuse his body has endured for decades is about to put him in a coffin. He's a scared little rabbit. The last member of the gang is the slick, womanizing loner Billy played by Rossif Sutherland, Kiefer's younger brother. Billy thinks his sexual prowess makes him a super man and a superman.
Watching the crazed dynamics of this band of losers is the real appeal of High Life which is set in Winnipeg in 1983, the first year ATM machines are installed in several local banks. It's those machines that Dick, Bug, Donnie and Billy plan to rob and the set up is really quite ingenious. Because the film opens with a shoot out in front of the bank we know instantly that things will go from bad to worse to impossibly bad.
In director Gary Yates' hands, MacDougall's screenplay starts out at a tortoise pace but soon is racing to the finish like a hare crossing the finish line in just under 80 minutes. It's a fun dark comedy which will probably get more play on DVD and Bravo TV than it will at theatres but it is proof positive that there is a great deal of talent in Canada's film pool.
Timothy Olyphant is Dick, the brains behind the heist plan and they're not bad brains when they're not frying on cocaine. Stephen Eric McIntyre's Bug is a loose cannon who shoots and then asks questions which pose major problems for the gang itself and any bystanders. Joe Anderson is Donnie who fears the abuse his body has endured for decades is about to put him in a coffin. He's a scared little rabbit. The last member of the gang is the slick, womanizing loner Billy played by Rossif Sutherland, Kiefer's younger brother. Billy thinks his sexual prowess makes him a super man and a superman.
Watching the crazed dynamics of this band of losers is the real appeal of High Life which is set in Winnipeg in 1983, the first year ATM machines are installed in several local banks. It's those machines that Dick, Bug, Donnie and Billy plan to rob and the set up is really quite ingenious. Because the film opens with a shoot out in front of the bank we know instantly that things will go from bad to worse to impossibly bad.
In director Gary Yates' hands, MacDougall's screenplay starts out at a tortoise pace but soon is racing to the finish like a hare crossing the finish line in just under 80 minutes. It's a fun dark comedy which will probably get more play on DVD and Bravo TV than it will at theatres but it is proof positive that there is a great deal of talent in Canada's film pool.
