At Any Price Poster

At Any Price (2012)

Drama | Thriller 
Rayting:   5.6/10 7.3K votes
Country: USA
Language: English
Release date: 1 May 2013

A farming family's business is threatened by an unexpected crisis, further testing the relationship between a father and his rebellious son.

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User Reviews

JustCuriosity 17 March 2013

At Any Price was well-received in its regional premiere at Austin's SXSW Film Festival. Writer/Director Ramin Bahrani continues to show his great versatility as a young filmmaker. Here he moves from the urban environments of his earlier work to rural Iowa. The opening credits suggest that this film will be a romantic tribute to the fading world of the rural family farm. But At Any Price is really about how rural America has become just as ruthless capitalist and competitive as the rest of American life. The film is about the corruption of the American Dream and how the family farm is becoming increasingly ruthless competitive system. The family in this case is the seemingly average Whipple family headed by Henry Whipple who wants to pass his business on to his son Dean Whipple. Dean wants to escape the family farm for the far more exciting world of stock car racing. Dean seems to hate his father, but seems unable to escape the reality of being his father's son. Their father-son relationship drives the entire film. The two leads, Denis Quaid as Henry and Zac Efron as his son, are definitely playing against type as they are both known for far lighter fare. Both really manage to display their acting acumen in what turns out to be a far darker view of the often romanticized American family farm. This is a world of genetically-modified seeds and ruthless competition not church socials. At Any Price is a film about the cost of family and the high cost of the family farm. The farm appears to be just another exemplar of the troubling nature of American capitalism. While the film may prove to be too dark for the ordinary audience of these actors, it is very powerful film about dysfunctional family life and economic life in modern America that should be widely viewed. Highly recommended for those interested in serious film drama.

cosmo_tiger 26 August 2013

Fmovies: "When a man stops wanting a man stops living." Henry Whipple (Quaid) is the head of his family's farming empire and is one of the best seed salesmen in the county. He want's nothing more then to pass on the farm to his sons. One of his sons is off in South America with no intent of coming home. His other son Dean (Efron) has ambitions of becoming a stock car driver. When Dean's life starts to slip away from him, an investigation into the family's farm and a horrible event all happens at once the family's future is threatened. I have said over and over that the lesser known movies 90% of the time are better then the huge studio movies. This is a perfect example of that. This is a great movie that really is a must see and I think Dennis Quaid deserves some recognition for this. This is the best acting job I have seen him do. Zac Efron also does a great job but the movie is more then just about the acting. I could go on and on about this movie but it just something that needs and deserves to be watched. Overall, a very great movie but it's not always happy. Great and depressing. I highly recommend. I say A-.

StevePulaski 27 August 2013

Sometimes, a movie character's stress is so all-encompassing and so consuming in his or her world that you begin to feel it in your own world, regardless of whether or not you've experience what they're going through. Director Ramin Bahrani, if nothing else, articulates internal conflicts and mental pressure beautifully in his latest offering At Any Price, a landmark in his film career as it is the most mainstream release a film of his has gotten and I'm sure numerous people still haven't heard about it.

This is my introduction to Bahrani's work as a feature film director. His short film, simply titled "Paper Bag," was, hear me out, a twenty minute long film focusing on a listless paper bag that would travel by the way of the wind and would encounter numerous animals and obstacles along the way. The short was narrated by iconic actor and director Werner Herzog and possessed such an absurdist beauty about it that was equal parts whimsical and heartwarming. I couldn't recommend it enough.

The film stars Dennis Quaid as Henry Whipple, owner of more than 3,000 acres of farmland in Iowa and the proud inheritor of Liberty Seeds, a company that sells and utilizes genetically-modified seeds. Henry hopes one day he'll be able to pass on the farm to his young son, like his dad did to him. However, his son Dean (Zac Efron) shows no interest in inheriting the farm, and sets his sights on being a race-car driver, competing in local events statewide in order to obtain money to perhaps make it that far. He is given encouragement by Cadence (Maika Monroe), his sort-of girlfriend, even though he begins to write her off as his aspirations begin to seemingly evolve into something. In need of help, with competition in the contemporary agriculture world increasing and the possibility of a scandal on Liberty Seeds becoming others' knowledge, Henry takes Cadence underneath his wing as an intern and introduces her to the world, while simultaneously trying to combat it.

It's clear that Bahrani didn't just want to use Iowa farmlands as a backdrop for his story. Him and co-writer Hallie Elizabeth Newton admirably immerse themselves into the culture of competitive agriculture, and show audiences through board-meetings, shady deals, and family dialog just how stressful of an environment this is. But what At Any Price's ultimate goal is lies on how it portrays the search for values and morality when money and company-placement is what it all boils down to. This isn't a tiresome trudge through morality in terms of how each right and wrong is rewarded, but rather it's about the choices we make and how we want to be seen by others. Henry seems like he once started out as an honest, moral man of his word, but now, he possesses the transparency, the attitude, and the fake smile akin to that of a politician. His son Dean is lost in the idea of trying to find himself when his father is not showing the characteristics of a role model or a caring member of his family. He worries about position and what the public thinks they know about him. This leads Dean to do things in the film he will later regret, if he chooses to reconnect with the path of kinder humanism.

A story like this is only levied by performances, and thankfully the likes of Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron offer remarkably maturing ones. Quaid is an actor somewhat like Nicolas Cage and Robert De Niro in the way he chooses sometimes completely asinine film roles that clearly do not challenge him in ways we love to

Hellmant 31 May 2013

At Any Price fmovies. 'AT ANY PRICE': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron both give outstanding performances in this tragic drama about competitive farming directed and co-written (with first time writer Hallie Elizabeth Newton) by Ramin Bahrani. I haven't seen any of Bahrani's previous films but I know he's garnered a lot of critical praise and attention. Roger Ebert, in 2009, said "Ramin Bahrani is the new great American director". He also praised this movie as "a great film" as well but it hasn't been loved by everyone and has received mixed reviews at best. I found it to be a good film (but not great). I'm not a big fan of tragedies and while this film does find 'hope in the darkness', like all good films should, it's still a little too dark and depressing for me (great performances though).

The film is about a family of farmers (the Whipples), who are desperately trying to stay successful in the increasingly competitive modern world of agriculture. They're lead by Henry Whipple (Quaid) and the film centers primarily on his relationship with his second eldest son, Dean (Efron). Having already lost his eldest son, from following in his footsteps (he left and is climbing a mountain somewhere far away), Henry desperately wants Dean to continue the family business. Dean wants to leave town as well though and dreams of becoming a race car driver. When an investigation into illegal seeding practices, by the Whipples, begins to haunt the family, and threatens to destroy their business, Dean and Henry are brought closer together (but tragedy also strikes).

The film co-stars Kim Dickens, Heather Graham, Maika Monroe, Chelcie Ross and Clancy Brown. They're all adequate in the film but it's Quaid and Efron that really shine. Some say it's Quaid's best performance ever (like Ebert had) but he's always been a good actor. It's Efron that continues to surprise me! Having started out as a prettyboy teen star I never thought he had much talent but he continues to prove me wrong (especially here). Bahrani's directing is good, the cinematography is beautiful and the story is involving and believable. Like I said it's just a little too dark and depressing for me, although there are positive moments as well. I prefer to see life as more positive than negative and this isn't a movie I'd say reinforces that notion.

Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_1fzjYYyuk

Michael_Elliott 23 May 2013

At Any Price (2012)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Ramin Bahrani's latest deals with farmer Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid) who sees himself in trouble over the family business but he also finds his relationship with his youngest son (Zac Efron) slipping away. Both men appear to be wanting something they can't have and after a tragic accident their love for one another is tested. AT ANY PRICE certainly contains some good performances and it's heart is certainly in the right place but if you take away the profanity you're actually left with something that probably wouldn't be workable as a TV movie. Director Bahrani clearly wanted to make a simple film about simple people in a bad situation due to greed and there's no question that he wanted to give out a message but sadly his screenplay is just too simple for its own good. If you've ever seen a family drama in your life then I think it's going to be pretty easy to see every twist and turn in the story coming a mile away. You know that the father is eventually going to realize that he isn't a great father. You know that the son is going to hurt those around him. You know the two are going to have to have something happen that brings them together. Even the supporting characters are all rather predictable and especially the entire subplot dealing with someone turning Whipple in for illegal activities. Again, there's no question that the director had his heart in the right place but sadly there's just not enough here to keep the viewer entertained or at least caught up in everything going on. Quaid turns in one of his best performances in years as he does a very good job and especially during the scenes where he's trying to sell his skill. The character is certainly a flawed human and Quaid does a very good job at showing his good side as well as his bad. Efron continues to impress with these independent films and he too is good in his part. Clancy Brown, Kim Dickens, Red West and Heather Graham are all good in their supporting roles but it's Maika Monroe who easily steals the film in her part. AT ANY PRICE still contains some mild appeal to make it worth viewing if you're a fan of the cast members but there's no question that it needed a richer screenplay to make everything work.

Movie-Jay 5 September 2012

From my thoughts about the film in my special Toronto coverage.

At Any Price

Iranian-American helmer Ramin Bahrani is fascinated with slices of American life that most Hollywood films today ignore. In his first three efforts, shot on shoe-string budgets in a neo-realist style familiar to fans of Middle East films of the past decade or so, we get absorbed into the everyday minutiae of his characters. There was the Middle East immigrant in New York City who runs his gift shop stand in Man Push Cart (2006), that resourceful Latino street orphan who works on 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 classic American style familiar to a bygone Hollywood era that produced Breaking Away (1979) and Silkwood (1983), while keeping intact his curiosity with everyday American life. Set in present-day Iowa with a pulse on our tense economic times, we follow enterprising farmer Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid, in what may be his best performance), a tragic character who now secures the Willy Loman place in American movies that had been occupied for some time by Kevin Spacey's Lester Burnham in American Beauty (1999).

Whipple, as he loves to remind us, is the largest seller of seeds in seven Iowa counties, second only to Jim Johnson (Clancy Brown). His eldest son Grant, who he idealizes, is off mountain-climbing in the Andes while his party-boy younger son Dean (Zac Efron) races cars, leaving dad and mom (a powerful, understated Kim Dickens) to run the family business.

A rich and textured story, this movie is less about building to a payoff than it is a soul-searching study of modern American values. What is astonishing is how Bahrani sees the glory of America and the trouble with her all at a level gaze. There may not be a better-directed sequence in American movies this year than one that takes place here at a race track where all of the major characters are assembled, singing the national anthem. Beneath its raw, physical appeal is a fundamental question about the price that is paid in the soul for winning at all costs at the detriment of your neighbor. This is a great American film.

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