- IMDb page: At Any Price (2012)
- Rate: 5.6/10 total 336 votes
- Genre: Drama | Thriller
- Runtime: 105 min
- Filming Location: DeKalb, Illinois, USA
- Director: Ramin Bahrani
- Stars: Dennis Quaid, Kim Dickens, Zac Efron | See full cast and crew
- Original Music By: Dickon Hinchliffe
- Plot Keyword: Investigation | Race Car | Family Business | Race Car Driver | Sex Standing Up
Known Trivia
Plot: A farming family's business is threatened by an unexpected crisis, further testing the relationship between a father and his rebellious son. Full summary » | »
Story: In the competitive world of modern agriculture, ambitious Henry Whipple wants his rebellious son Dean to help expand his family's farming empire. However, Dean has his sights set on becoming a professional race car driver. When a high-stakes investigation into their business is exposed, father and son are pushed into an unexpected crisis that threatens the family's entire livelihood. Written bySony Pictures Classics
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Synopsis: A rebellious son whose dreams of becoming a professional race-car driver are derailed when his father's farming empire becomes the target of a high-stakes investigation.
Produced By:
- Dennis Quaid known as Henry Whipple
- Kim Dickens known as Irene Whipple
- Zac Efron known as Dean Whipple
- Guy Massey known as Funeral Pastor
- John Hoogenakker known as Mr. Pritchard
- Laura Atwood known as Mrs. Pritchard
- Dan Waller known as Larry Brown
- Maika Monroe known as Cadence Farrow
- Phil Ridarelli known as Salesman
- Clancy Brown known as Jim Johnson
- Chelcie Ross known as Byron
- Bob Hungerford known as Diner Old Timer
- Stephen Louis Grush known as Torgeson
- Ben Marten known as Brad Johnson
- Matthew Petersen known as Brett Johnson
- Heather Graham known as Meredith Crown
- Red West known as Cliff Whipple
- George Naylor known as Farmer George
- Jerry Christensen known as Chiropractor
- Meighan Gerachis known as Farmer Ivy
- Tim Grimm known as Farmer Alex
- Troy Roush known as Farmer Troy
- Sophie Curtis known as Aubrey, Phototaker
- Anthony Moseley known as Nick Elliott Recruiter
- Joey DeBettencourt known as Pete Elliott
- Christopher Borek known as Cadence's Friend, Andy
- Summer Shelton known as Meredith's Friend
- Marc Grapey known as Agent #1
- Steve Key known as Agent #2
- Matt Kozlowski known as Crew Chief
- Jesse Dabson known as Church Pastor
- Wilbur Bastian known as iPad Farmer
Production Companies:
- Black Bear Pictures
- Treehouse Pictures
- Killer Films
- Noruz Films (I)
- Big Indie Pictures
- Atmosphere Casting of Chicago extras casting
- Dolby Laboratories sound mix
- Fletcher Chicago FotoKem nextLAB (as Fletcher Camera & Lenses)
- Gray Krauss Des Rochers legal services
- Props On Wheels camera car and process trailer
- Stone Management product placement
- Three Point Capital brokerage
- Sony Pictures Classics (2012) (Canada) (theatrical)
- Sony Pictures Classics (2012) (USA) (theatrical)
- Cathay (2012) (Singapore) (all media)
- D Productions (2012) (Turkey) (all media)
- Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2013) (United Arab Emirates) (all media) (Middle East)
- H.G.C. Entertainment (2012) (China) (all media)
- Impuls Home Entertainment (2012) (Switzerland) (all media)
- Nu Metro Productions (2012) (South Africa) (all media)
- Sam Film (2012) (Iceland) (all media)
- Surreal Films (2012) (Russia) (all media)
- Tanweer Films (2012) (Bangladesh) (all media)
- Tanweer Films (2012) (Bhutan) (all media)
- Tanweer Films (2012) (India) (all media)
- Tanweer Films (2012) (Nepal) (all media)
- Tanweer Films (2012) (Pakistan) (all media)
- Tanweer Films (2012) (Sri Lanka) (all media)
- United King Films (2012) (Israel) (all media)
- Village Films (2012) (Greece) (all media)
- Zon Lusomundo Audiovisuais (2012) (Portugal) (all media)
MPAA: Rated R for sexual content including a strong graphic image, and for language
Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database
At Any Price is the type of film that causes the audience to seriouslyconsider the lengths at which a father will go to protect his son.Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid) is a large scale Iowa farmer who isworking to pass the family business down to one of his sons. He has twosons and the eldest who originally went off to college is now exploringthe world, which leaves the reins to be passed to the younger son DeanWhipple (Zac Efron) who has very little interest in carrying on thefarming legacy. Dean is building a name for himself as a racer and hashis sights set on a career in Nascar. This was the second film in thefest that I had viewed that touched on sibling rivalry betweenbrothers, and this one was not much more rewarding than the other,Awful Nice. This story is entirely character driven, which is a bitironic since the primary male characters are not particularly likable.The bright spot in the story is Dean's girlfriend Cadence (MaikaMonroe), who knew how to ingratiate herself with people and wasobviously a very smart girl. She made all the drama a bit morepalatable as we traverse through cold and calculated purchase and salestactics, with all the manipulation and deception, who knew that farmingcould be so devious. This story took my knowledge of farming to a wholenew level, I would have thought that a farming story would be about whocan grow the largest squash for the county fair, but this was morelabout acquiring more land and building a customer base for seed sales.The theme that overshadowed the entire film was competition, brotherscompeting for their father's attention. Some of the story seemed a bitdisjointed and served little purpose other than to emphasize howstrained the father and son relationship was. The scenes with Dean andHenry were the most poignant, although Dean just came across as aspoiled entitled brat, Henry seemed to genuinely care about his son andwas failing miserably at trying to figure out how to relate to him. Iwould love to say that this was a feel good story of a father and sonwho bond over circumstances that ultimately make them stronger as afamily, but that is not the case since the feel good part of the storyjust never materialized.
ReplyDeleteWriter/Director Rahim Bahrani, responsible for the indie hit, GoodbyeSolo (2008) puts some of his best cinematic qualities to use in hisnewest film At Any Price starring Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron. Bahrani'stake on mid-western culture is at times fascinating though has manyinstances of feeling like a Lifetime movie of the week. Layered withnarrative vices and escalating tension, the true savior of the film isthe powerhouse performance by Quaid.
ReplyDeleteTelling the story of the Whipple's, a farming family whose agriculturebusiness is threatened by an impending investigation of their fieldsand the procedures they follow. In the midst of the ordeal, therelationship of a father and his rebellious son (Efron) is tested totheir max. Bahrani's interpretation of modern-day Iowa and thecommunities that surround is an interesting examination of Americanvalues that he respectfully caresses however; he does tend to lean onthe clichéd dialogue of family melodrama with short cuts andunrealistic story developments that don't do him or his characters anyfavors. Dennis Quaid is an interesting anomaly of an actor that hasn'tmade his due with the major awards. After fearlessly diving into acharacter that's self-centered, wretched, and downright degrading,Quaid outdoes most of his earlier works of cinema. The journey that hetakes pitiful Henry down is a testament to his dedication to the craft.Magnificently portrayed and later moderately redeemed, the performancestands as one of the best turns of the Tribeca Film Festival and thefirst quarter of 2013.
Zac Efron is a horse of a different color. Efron has struggled in hisattempts to serious acting like last year's The Paperboy (2012) andCharlie St. Cloud (2010). Efron puts forth his best effort as an actorso far as the young, rebellious Dean. He's going through an interestingtransition as Efron is discovering his abilities and becoming aware ofhis boundaries as an actor. Dean lets loose when he needs to and stillgives off a sex appeal that doesn't feel forced and very muchaccessible for the viewer.
Co-stars Heather Graham has seemed to have gotten stuck in the same,type-casted, underdeveloped female role that doesn't hint at any of thepromises that were made in when she came into our cinematic minds inPaul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights (1997). Newcomer Maika Monroeshows hints of promise in her limited role but is held back bycontrived conversations and confined emotional abilities. It's alsogreat to see veteran actor Clancy Brown still delivering strong work inhis later years. A brief but memorable turn that reminds us about thetalents of a wonderful character actor.
Overall, the story is respectable and tolerable. Bahrani is a nobledirector that may be able to shine in brighter and more ambitiousprojects in the future. The true gem of the picture lies in the multi-dimensional performance of Dennis Quaid and the surprisingeffectiveness of Zac Efron. Cinematographer Michael Simmonds alsomanages to acquire some graceful and ravishing shots of the serenefarmlands of American agriculture. A technical merit worthy of amention. A commendable and skilled work.
At Any Price is simply gratifying. A must-see of the Tribeca FilmFestival. Check out the trailer below. The film opens in theaters onApril 24th.
It's a story where the characters aren't sympathetic and seem to createall their own problems. None of their problems are all that involvingeither. So what's to care about? The script is poorly structured takingto long to set up the situation while at the same time failing to setup some key characters that come into play in the rushed final part ofthe film.
ReplyDeleteQuaid is very good, sometimes a bit mannered though he's supposed to beplaying a kind of obnoxious salesman so that's part of the film can beaccepted as being done on purpose. I heard the director speak after apreview screening and he mentioned the influences that kind of createthe problem with the film. DEATH OF A SALESMAN meets THE LAST PICTURESHOW with some Robert Altman thrown in. If you know either of theseclassic pieces of writing you might guess this isn't up to either ofthose standards and it's not. If you don't know those films it won'tmake it a better film. The film wastes too much time setting up thecharacters all of whom are unlikable selfish jerks for much of thefilm. The key dramatic incident comes too late--and won't be revealedhere--and is left dangling at the films end. The one son, played withno depth, by Zac seems to be the focus of the story for too long andthen is kind of pushed back and other characters take over. Aside fromhim there is little to fault with any of the acting.
One other key character, Quaid's Dad, appears out of nowhere in thefilm--you'll actually think he's been dead for years and years the waypeople talk about him until he suddenly shows up, and Heather Graham'scharacter just pops up and pops out of the story with little logicaside from some kind of possible sexual interest, though there is nonudity in the film and the story doesn't go in that directionultimately. Both of these characters need more thought on a screenplaylevel.
Some odd details here and there successfully touch on Robert Altman butthose are just minor details of how modern farming works amid a messyscript.
There is just little to hold your interest for far too long in thescreenplay. Digital photography is OK but has a bit of a video edge toit and doesn't do the actors any favors in close up either. The filmcould use more and a better music score. The film ultimately isforgettable.
At Any Price was well-received in its regional premiere at Austin'sSXSW Film Festival. Writer/Director Ramin Bahrani continues to show hisgreat versatility as a young filmmaker. Here he moves from the urbanenvironments of his earlier work to rural Iowa. The opening creditssuggest that this film will be a romantic tribute to the fading worldof the rural family farm. But At Any Price is really about how ruralAmerica has become just as ruthless capitalist and competitive as therest of American life. The film is about the corruption of the AmericanDream and how the family farm is becoming increasingly ruthlesscompetitive system. The family in this case is the seemingly averageWhipple family headed by Henry Whipple who wants to pass his businesson to his son Dean Whipple. Dean wants to escape the family farm forthe far more exciting world of stock car racing. Dean seems to hate hisfather, but seems unable to escape the reality of being his father'sson. Their father-son relationship drives the entire film. The twoleads, Denis Quaid as Henry and Zac Efron as his son, are definitelyplaying against type as they are both known for far lighter fare. Bothreally manage to display their acting acumen in what turns out to be afar darker view of the often romanticized American family farm. This isa world of genetically-modified seeds and ruthless competition notchurch socials. At Any Price is a film about the cost of family and thehigh cost of the family farm. The farm appears to be just anotherexemplar of the troubling nature of American capitalism. While the filmmay prove to be too dark for the ordinary audience of these actors, itis very powerful film about dysfunctional family life and economic lifein modern America that should be widely viewed. Highly recommended forthose interested in serious film drama.
ReplyDeleteFrom my thoughts about the film in my special Toronto coverage.
ReplyDeleteAt Any Price
Iranian-American helmer Ramin Bahrani is fascinated with slices ofAmerican life that most Hollywood films today ignore. In his firstthree efforts, shot on shoe-string budgets in a neo-realist stylefamiliar to fans of Middle East films of the past decade or so, we getabsorbed into the everyday minutiae of his characters. There was theMiddle East immigrant in New York City who runs his gift shop stand inMan Push Cart (2006), that resourceful Latino street orphan who workson a scrap-metal row behind old Shea Stadium in Queens in Chop Shop(2007), and the African cabbie in Goodbye Solo (2008).
At Any Price finds Bahrani exchanging neo-realism for a classicAmerican style familiar to a bygone Hollywood era that producedBreaking Away (1979) and Silkwood (1983), while keeping intact hiscuriosity with everyday American life. Set in present-day Iowa with apulse on our tense economic times, we follow enterprising farmer HenryWhipple (Dennis Quaid, in what may be his best performance), a tragiccharacter who now secures the Willy Loman place in American movies thathad been occupied for some time by Kevin Spacey's Lester Burnham inAmerican Beauty (1999).
Whipple, as he loves to remind us, is the largest seller of seeds inseven Iowa counties, second only to Jim Johnson (Clancy Brown). Hiseldest son Grant, who he idealizes, is off mountain-climbing in theAndes while his party-boy younger son Dean (Zac Efron) races cars,leaving dad and mom (a powerful, understated Kim Dickens) to run thefamily business.
A rich and textured story, this movie is less about building to apayoff than it is a soul-searching study of modern American values.What is astonishing is how Bahrani sees the glory of America and thetrouble with her all at a level gaze. There may not be abetter-directed sequence in American movies this year than one thattakes place here at a race track where all of the major characters areassembled, singing the national anthem. Beneath its raw, physicalappeal is a fundamental question about the price that is paid in thesoul for winning at all costs at the detriment of your neighbor. Thisis a great American film.