Low Life | Review

Simmering beneath the grimy surface of Nicolas Klotz and Elisabbeth Perceval’s Low Life is a politically propelled tale of love and loss that aims to portray youth in rebellion, but its polarized script lacks fluidity and omits clarity. There are clusters of squatting young activists against forced eviction and current immigration practices holed up in abandoned buildings throughout Lyon. Among them is a young woman named Carmen (Camille Rutherford), her sniveling, spoiled poet ex, and her new found love interest in an Afghani student who’s legal status has just expired. The two lovers fall hard for each other, but they are soon forced into hiding to avoid his looming deportation.

Outside of the perfectly captured dirty environments the young squatters inhibit and the political intensity of the dimly lit struggles created, the film’s arc is wobbly at best. The naïve romantic leads are constantly held at an arms length, never allowing for an emotional investment to develop within the audience. They aren’t very likable as characters, and they do very little to evoke any empathy. This is partially due to the film’s bipolar script which alternates between alienating high brow philosophic lingo and clunky high school drama. Neither feels completely natural, and when the film delves into unexpected African voodoo ritual and the mysterious murder of police officers, the dots are left unconnected. Low Life is a slow and pensive film with many plot points that seem to never fully develop, and at 129 minutes, it is a long and often frustrating watch. The first hour and a half could have been drastically condensed to expand upon the much more interesting tail end.

Conceptually, Klotz and Perceval were on to something. The film’s discussion of constant police observation, and the blockade of Middle Eastern and African immigrants to France is poignant and relevant. Parisian squatting slums are incredibly common, and current immigration laws have left many disenchanted aliens, just hoping to make a new life, in political limbo. Unfortunately, the film makers chose to merely make these issues a backdrop to a rather fatigued romance instead of going into depth on these interesting social issues. Their take on youth revolt unfortunately lacks the passion and vigor of the generation portrayed. Its characters live up to the film’s title, but Low Life never really takes off to become the successful political rom-drama it aims to be.

Reviewed on September 11th at the 2011 Toronto Int. Film Festival – Special Presentations Programme.

129 Mins.

Rating 2 stars