High Life (2008)

39% of users liked it
(483 ratings)

A handful of drug-addicted petty criminals discover their plan to pull off the perfect crime isn't quite perfect at all in this dark fusion of comedy and action from director Gary Yates. It's 1983, and Bug (Stephen Eric McIntyre) has just been released from prison. Bug meets up with his friend and… More A handful of drug-addicted petty criminals discover their plan to pull off the perfect crime isn't quite perfect at all in this dark fusion of comedy and action from director Gary Yates. It's 1983, and Bug (Stephen Eric McIntyre) has just been released from prison. Bug meets up with his friend and former cellmate Dick (Timothy Olyphant), who is working as part of the cleaning crew at a hospital; it's Dick's first on-the-books job, and it provides him with a steady paycheck as well as an opportunity to steal drugs to feed his appetite for opiates. Thanks to Bug, Dick is quickly fired, but Bug soon gets an idea for a quick and lucrative score. Automated Teller Machines have become a common item while Bug was in stir, and he hatches a clever plot to rob a bank's ATM machines by posing as repairmen. Dick thinks Bug's scheme can actually work, and they recruit two guys to help pull the job, small-time thief Donnie (Joe Anderson) and Billy (Rossif Sutherland), a fellow junkie Dick meets at a twelve-step meeting. However good the plan looked on paper, once Dick and Bug meet up with Donnie and Billy to pull the job, it becomes obvious things aren't panning out and their partners in crime are even less dependable than they are. High Life was based on the play of the same name by Lee MacDougall, who also wrote the screenplay for the film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 19 min.
Directed By: Gary Yates
Written By: Lee Macdougall, Gary Yates
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Sep 15, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Mar 16, 2010
Studio: Union Pictures

Critic Reviews

Stephen Cole, Globe and Mail
High Life is filled with surprising, artful flourishes.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
The plot gets twisted but the direction by Yates never does. He finds the humour in a desperate situation. It's hard to hate or even despise Dick and his stooges, because you can sense how needy they are.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
This witty film wins us over with its likeable-loser characters and twisty plot. It also has an intriguingly serious edge
Jim Slotek, Jam! Movies
So, finally, deciding whether or not to see this movie boils down to one simple thing. If you didn't see it on stage, chances are you'll have a good-enough time.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Cynthia S

Once again I notice the low rating from some people, but I personally really enjoyed this movie. I admit that I am a Tim Olyphant fan, so maybe I am a little biased. I dont think that is the case, though. I truly got a kick out of this movie. It is a black comedy, of sorts, so that… More
Once again I notice the low rating from some people, but I personally really enjoyed this movie. I admit that I am a Tim Olyphant fan, so maybe I am a little biased. I dont think that is the case, though. I truly got a kick out of this movie. It is a black comedy, of sorts, so that makes me like it even more. All in all good flick.
Jeffrey M

Probably the most unique role I've seen Timothy Olyphant do, and it worked pretty well. Not exactly a laugh-a-minute comedy, but it generally works as a heist gone wrong dramedy, appropriately set in the early 80s. At 80 minutes it never amounts to much, but I appreciated most of… More
Probably the most unique role I've seen Timothy Olyphant do, and it worked pretty well. Not exactly a laugh-a-minute comedy, but it generally works as a heist gone wrong dramedy, appropriately set in the early 80s. At 80 minutes it never amounts to much, but I appreciated most of the dark sense of humor, and what seems to be a fairly realistic depiction of how addicts think. 3/5 Stars
Barry L

Brilliant failed heist movie. Ex con Olyphant and his buddies try to work out a violence free hijacking which fails miserably in every way. Superb story, great acting and the sense of humour made me laugh throughout.
Aurelius D

Wow I am truly shocked that this movie hasn't gotten more interest than it has. I am also rather shocked that it just came out on DVD and I had never heard about it until I looked up Timothy Olyphant's work. He is the reason I watched it but I did enjoy Rossif Sutherland in… More
Wow I am truly shocked that this movie hasn't gotten more interest than it has. I am also rather shocked that it just came out on DVD and I had never heard about it until I looked up Timothy Olyphant's work. He is the reason I watched it but I did enjoy Rossif Sutherland in it. Quite a talented family them Sutherlands. You got Timothy trying to clean up his act...in a manner of speaking when you get past the drugs. Enter his friend/partner/ex -cell-mate who seems to be the bad influence. Next thing you know they are looking for the score of a lifetime to fuel their morphine habits and live "respectably". Everything goes wrong and there is a bit of a twist. It's a good small time caper movie as we've seen in the past with such films as "The Lookout" with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It's really amazing the bad decisions that happen in this movie but it is a fun watch just to see how things will end up.

Cast

Rossif Sutherland
as Billy

High Life (2008)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Cynthia S

Jeffrey M

Barry L

Aurelius D

Cast

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