The High Cost of Living (2011)

46% of critics liked it
(13 reviews)
57% of users liked it
(573 ratings)

THE HIGH COST OF LIVING is the story of a young pregnant woman whose world falls apart when she loses her baby in a hit and run accident. It starts with an accident. Henry (Zach Braff) makes a wrong turn and crashes into Nathalie (Isabelle Blais). In a fit of panic, and over the legal limit, he cuts… More THE HIGH COST OF LIVING is the story of a young pregnant woman whose world falls apart when she loses her baby in a hit and run accident. It starts with an accident. Henry (Zach Braff) makes a wrong turn and crashes into Nathalie (Isabelle Blais). In a fit of panic, and over the legal limit, he cuts and runs, leaving Nathalie lying in the street, unconscious, bleeding and eight months pregnant. She wakes up in the hospital only to find her bright future destroyed and the baby she is still carrying, dead. Her husband, Michel (Patrick Labbé) is too unnerved and emotionally bereft to deal with the tragedy. As her life unravels, she stumbles across Henry - who has been searching for his victim. Unaware of what he has done, Nathalie sees him as an unlikely guardian angel, everything Michel is not - compassionate, charming and a little crazy. She finds a welcome relief in the tall, rumpled stranger that seems only too willing to offer her refuge. But Henry has his own problems. His past misdeeds are catching up, and he soon discovers that the police are steadily closing in. The inevitable collision will force both Henry and Nathalie to confront loss, labour and life, and to ultimately decide whether the cost of living is worth the price. -- (C) Official Site

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 32 min.
Directed By: Deborah Chow
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: May 13, 2011 Limited
On DVD: Aug 22, 2011
Studio: Tribeca Films

Critic Reviews

Paul Brunick, New York Times
So artistically well-intentioned and earnest in its ambitions that you can almost forgive the banality of its every scene.
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice
Ridiculously implausible yet still predictable.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Chow and her actors are so gifted that this fragile situation escapes contrivance to become a poignant, romantic and deftly nuanced revelation of character and emotions.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
An already iffy premise is badly served by a film that is tonally jarring.
Alissa Simon, Variety
Although there are moments when lead thesps Zach Braff and Isabelle Blais just about pull off the implausible conceit, the pic still suffers from major problems of tone as well as stilted camerawork and editing.
Eric Hynes, Time Out New York
Movies often make too much of that truism, but surprisingly committed performances from actors like these can still make it feel like something meaningful.
Brent Simon, Shockya.com
An engaging movie about commingled grief and regret, well staged and captured by cinematographer Claudine Sauve in a manner that works with the material to effect a depressive, melancholic tone.
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
The High Cost of Living is yet another example of the high cost (for moviegoers) of lowered production barriers for aspiring filmmakers.
Fred Topel, Screen Junkies
Now this is drama!... just throws the most awful situation at her characters and watches them deal with it.
Jim Slotek, Jam! Movies
Off-beat delivery and acting redeem this modestly budgeted "redemption" story.
Adam Nayman, eye WEEKLY
Chow's direction shows a good eye for locations, but her gritty nighttime aesthetic can't cloak the predictable nature of the material, which only really has one way to go and staggers there down the home stretch.
Norman Wilner, NOW Toronto
I'm still not sure how The High Cost Of Living made it onto Canada's Top Ten, let alone how it took the best Canadian first feature award at TIFF last year. It's just not very good.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...a decidedly off-kilter premise that's utilized to pervasively agreeable effect by filmmaker Deborah Chow...

Read all 13 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Everett J

"High Cost of Living" is a tale not many people will enjoy. It's a story about Henry(Zach Braff) who goes out one night and not paying attention while he drives he hits Nathalie(Isabelle Blais). Henry in a panic, leaves the scene of the accident. Nathalie happens to… More
"High Cost of Living" is a tale not many people will enjoy. It's a story about Henry(Zach Braff) who goes out one night and not paying attention while he drives he hits Nathalie(Isabelle Blais). Henry in a panic, leaves the scene of the accident. Nathalie happens to be pregnant and loses her baby. The rest of the movie is about how they deal with the accident, and how they begin a relationship with each other, even though Nathalie doesn't know what Henry did. Its an intriguing premise, but it's a pretty dull movie. Braff is great with these dramatic roles, which is funny considering he is known for "Scrubs" and it's great comedy. A bit of a warning, the movie is set in Montreal and there are a lot of subtitlles. I don't mind subtitles, but I had no idea this movie would be so French heavy. Although the subject is very dramatic, the movie never goes into medlodramtic territory. Instead it keeps a good realtistic balance. If you want to watch a low budget, hard drama, then you may like this. Otherwise, just skip, you can find a lot better.
Christopher H

Though the baseline of the plot has been done before, the raw nature of the film as well as the performances from Zach Braff and Isabella Blais make the film very enjoyable. The film could have done without the attempt at a love story, as it came off a tad awkward. If you enjoyed… More
Though the baseline of the plot has been done before, the raw nature of the film as well as the performances from Zach Braff and Isabella Blais make the film very enjoyable. The film could have done without the attempt at a love story, as it came off a tad awkward. If you enjoyed "Rabbit Hole" last year, "The High Cost of Living" is comparable, though with less budget and filled with up-and-comers.