AT ANY PRICE (Ramin Bahrani) Rating: NNN
Dennis Quaid gives the kind of performance that deserves awards, but it’s in a movie that won’t likely get that kind of attention. He’s terrific as an opportunistic patriarch expanding his family’s modern agriculture enterprise with questionable practices and little regard for those he plows under along the way.
His son (Zac Efron, strong in an undemanding role) wants little to do with the business, opting to pursue NASCAR dreams alongside his loyal girlfriend (Maika Monroe, a nice discovery).
Director Ramin Bahrani’s art house background shows in this old-school generational drama. Although he occasionally gives in to obtuse melodrama, Bahrani employs a soulful and subtle intelligence to communicate the loss of both traditional farming and families.
