The performances from Zac Efron and Dennis Quaid are both excellent, but the film itself goes through a ton of tonal shifts and tries to be too many things at once. It could have been great with a little more focus. Kim Dickens is also great in a supporting role as well as the charming Maika Monroe, a newcomer who is a natural onscreen. Heather Graham's character is completely pointless and she's given nothing to do. It has great cinematography and several scenes are incredibly well-done, so I'd recommend it. B

After establishing himself with a series of small-scale portraits of outsider culture in the United States with big hearts and a sharp eye for day-to-day detail, Ramin Bahrani, the Iranian American director of Chop Shop and Goodbye Solo, travels to the heartland, to the competitive world of corporate farming, and casts A-list actors for the first time with At Any Price, but his art-house sensitivity remains intact. This is, in fact, his best and most satisfying film to date. This is not a small statement considering his 40 years of experience in front of the camera: Dennis Quaid is given the role of a lifetime as Henry, an ambitious third-generation farmer with an outsize personality and a major investment in the modified-seed industry (with a lucrative, but not-so-legal twist). Also giving his best performance to date is Zac Efron as Dean, the second of Henry's two sons, an aspiring race-car driver with a volatile personality, a grudge against his father, and an eye on places far more exciting than rural Iowa. The film chronicles a month or two in the lives of Henry, Dean, and the women in their lives as their fortunes expand and contract while in ferocious pursuit of the American Dream. The storyline has a realistic slice-of-life rhythm complemented by a well researched exploration of the modern farming industry and its controversies, which prove more nuanced and riveting than most will expect. Quaid is a near revelation as a man whose soul is slowly eroding as he compromises his moral standard more and more in the name of profit and dynasty building even as he tries to project an image of macho perfection and conventional fatherly concern. His character's journey, and the film in general, raises several dynamic questions regarding any number of topics, ranging from the impact of father/son estrangement to the bloodthirsty value we as a society place on achieving the glory of number-one status versus aiming for simple satisfaction and a comfortable place in the world. At Any Price is among the year's finest and a must-see.

A

Thank you.

Dennis Quaid's performance in this is one of the best of the year and one of the most undervalued, too. So many complicated notes of desperation, guilt, love, and pride. A real career high for him, and it is a shame he is around a thousand and one miles outside the Oscar race.

This definitely went somewhere I didn't expect and took a fairly dark, intriguing turn. The performances by Zac Efron and especially Dennis Quaid are great, with Quaid giving one of his best performances in ages. There's some really nice cinematography that highlights the rural setting well.

8/10 (B+)