An Amazingly Good Movie. Deep and Measured in its Development.

This was, to me, a riveting movie from start to finish. It begins with the “low life” scenario and asks whether the main male character can end on a higher plane. The actors are perfect – slow but with rich nuances. Isabelle Blais, as Nathalie, gives a totally strong performance: empathetic to the role in a way that shines with perfection.
The film was so good that it led me to reflect how its theme even has echoes of Hamlet in it; this does sound extreme -- but in The High Cost of Living the main male character is confronted by an issue that must be addressed in a serious way, for his character will not allow him to run away and ignore it, and in the addressing of this unwelcome situation he finds he must explore the very depth of his own character, and come to terms with whether he is coward and villain, or someone far better than the person who starts out at the beginning of the story. I urge people new to this film to watch it expecting it to be quite slow and measured, but all the richer for that.