AT ANY PRICE directed by Ramin Bahrani, written by Bahrani and Hallie Elizabeth Newton, with Dennis Quaid, Zac Efron and Maika Monroe. A Mongrel Media release. 105 minutes. Opens Friday (May 10). For venues and times, see listings.
After four decades in the movie business, Dennis Quaid is a Hollywood institution. Lately, he’s been playing stock roles in studio vehicles like G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra, but he’s turning that around with a masterful performance as a scheming patriarch in At Any Price, a drama about a farm family coping with modern practices.
It’s the latest by Ramin Bahrani, an art house filmmaker Roger Ebert once described as “the director of the decade.” When Quaid was offered the part, he immediately checked out Bahrani’s films.
“The boy in Chop Shop is about 13, a non-actor,” Quaid recalls. “He gives this incredible performance. I said, ‘If you can get a performance out of me like that, that’s what I want to do.'”
Quaid is calm and relaxed during our interview at last fall’s Toronto Film Festival. He slips into a sofa seat, taking his time to consider my questions while puffing on the vapours of an electric cigarette. He quit tobacco two years ago, a change in lifestyle that coincides with a change in artistic endeavours.
As much as At Any Price represents a new direction for Quaid, what drew him to the story was that it reminded him of the classics.
“It harkens back to films I grew up on,” says Quaid, citing Terrence Malick’s Badlands as an example. “Small stories. It’s something you don’t find in the business any more. Movies have mostly gone to big tent poles the studios are making. This is a film that is about something.”
The generational drama has Quaid sharing screen time with a new cohort of actors like Zac Efron (whom he compares to a young Johnny Depp) and newcomer Maika Monroe, a professional kiteboarder who’s set to make waves on the big screen.
Quaid’s tranquil demeanour seems almost comatose compared to the 19-year-old Monroe, whom I spoke to moments after. She’s positively giddy, overwhelmed by her virgin tour on the festival scene, with its red-carpet premieres, press dates and after-parties.
Monroe, who will soon appear in Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring and Jason Reitman’s Labor Day, was nervous approaching her role in At Any Price, mostly because of celebrities like Quaid and Efron.
“I didn’t know if they were going to be arrogant,” recalls Monroe, who was pleasantly surprised by Quaid’s warmth. “He’s so chill. I learned so much from him, seeing his transformation, just watching him. It was really nice to have him there and talk to him about this whole crazy business.”
Monroe says Quaid was like a father figure on set, but the older actor laughs that off.
“I wasn’t there to be the sage,” he says.
Interview Clips
Dennis Quaid on mourning an old way of life:
Dennis Quaid on how Zac Efron reminds him of a young Johnny Depp:
Dennis Quaid on Maika Monroe:
Dennis Quaid on his non-existent Elmore Leonard project:
Maika Monroe on all her professional endeavours:
Maika Monroe on Kiteboarding:
Maika Monroe on attending industry parties:
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