At Any Price (2012)

How much does the American Dream cost? What is one willing to give up in order to achieve it? The answer is pretty much right there in the title of acclaimed director Ramin Bahrani's At Any Price, a brilliant morality tale that further establishes him as one of today's finest filmmakers. Bahrani's first three films, Man Push Cart, Chop Shop, and 2008's Goodbye Solo, told uniquely American stories through the lens of the immigrant experience. But here he turns his insightful eye on the small-town Midwest, where family legacy is of paramount importance, and success is measured by hard work and desire.

What happens when the next generation has no intention of following in the prior's footsteps? What happens when the pervasive influence of big business and steeper competition begins to encroach on one's ability to survive? In the heartland of Iowa, Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid) is a reasonably successful farmer, tending land that has been in his family for generations. It's his dream to be the top grower in the entire state, but he's constantly chasing after the top guy (Clancy Brown), who always seems to have the upper hand. After splurging on an extra 200 acres, Henry hopes to pass it off on his sons to tend as their own, but his oldest son Grant has skipped town for parts unknown, and his other son Dean (Zac Efron) has a dream of racing in NASCAR.
Henry wishes Dean were more like him, while Dean isn't as different from Henry as he thinks. They butt heads over everything, and Henry isn't exactly the most attentive listener. He's a salesman through and through, someone who puts on a false smile and is always looking for a way to close a deal. Taught by his father "When a man stops wanting, a man starts dying", Henry cheats on his wife (Kim Dickens) with the sexy Meredith (Heather Graham), and schemes to cheat the giant agribusinesses by reusing his genetically modified seeds. Dean enjoys his life as a big fish in a small pond, hanging out with his girlfriend Cadence (Maika Monroe) and racing the dirt tracks in hopes of winning a contract.

It's a simple story of family melodrama told in the classic, intimate style of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, or better yet, All My Sons. Bahrani has always been good at making the location an integral character in the story, unearthing the many truths and myths of the local culture. He explores, in much better fashion than Matt Damon's Promised Land, the soft underbelly of our farmer class. Swallowed up and twisted by the expanse of industry, what had been a respectable, fundamentally American building block is now just a cold business like any other. You either evolve or die. Destroy the farmer next to you, or be destroyed by him. Their dreams can never be allowed to stand side-by-side with yours. This obsessive need for competition is an integral piece of the intricate puzzle Bahrani weaves, and we see it play out between father and son in many different ways.

Dennis Quaid rarely disappoints, but he gives the performance of his already-great career. The charm we've come to know and love from him is there, but corrupted and phony. He's perfect in every single frame, and the film is made instantly better whenever he's on screen. Contrary to popular belief, Zac Efron can act when given the opportunity, and he does good work here when Dean is enjoying his time as a local celebrity. Efron doesn't do brooding malcontent quite as well when called upon, though. The real find may be Maika Monroe as Cadence. She's had a few small roles here and there, and will appear opposite Emma Watson in The Bling Ring, but her time on screen, whether it's with Quaid or Efron, are simply electric. Cadence is a girl many would presume has no future beyond the town's city limits, but she's smarter and more ambitious than is readily apparent.

Bahrani can get a little heavy-handed with the metaphors, and sometimes the melodrama steers into All My Children territory. A final act twist changes the complexion of the entire film in a bad way, piling on one final hurdle that is about ten shades too dark. Bahrani doesn't ask any easy questions, and certainly doesn't offer up any easy answers. Tough, engaging, and brutally honest, At Any Price is one of those quiet gems you hope others will have the opportunity to discover for themselves.