More about the Gen-X lifestyle than Reality Bites ever was, The Low Life follows a group of twentysomethings as they deal with little employment opportunity and bleak futures. An emotionless wannabe writer, John (Rory Cochrane) spends most of his time drinking. His nerdy roommate Andrew (Sean Astin, in a fascinating performance) is the opposite, a caring, Journey fanatic who gets on everyone's nerves. Though they both try to live with themselves and each other, neither gets it right. The Low Life has an uncomfortable tension to it, as we drift from scene to scene, with no real structure. But writer/director George Hickenlooper has based his film around the wrong character (John, not Andrew). Optional. (L. Russo)
The Low Life
(Cabin Fever, 98 min., R, avail. Sept. 17) Vol. 11, Issue 5
The Low Life
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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