The Low Life

that takes you in completely. I can't help but noticing that many people praise Sean Astin. I agree, he is wonderful in that role. He makes the audience feel with him. But still I think this is definetely Rory Cochrane's Movies. His performance is so incredibly good, that I saw that movie three times in a row. There never was any doubt that Mr. Cochrane is a very, very talented Actor, but he just shine's out in "the low life". Yes, the movie is somewhat depressing, but it's Cochrane's play to thank for, that the viewer can still enjoy the whole movie. I really can't believe that I just recently saw it for the first time. To bad there might never be a DVD, finally a movie worth buying. bibi Germany

It's hard to "love" a movie that taps into the lives of a group of losers who fail to connect with each other and the world, but this was a well acted and mostly well-made film and I enjoyed watching it. Sean Astin was endearing and heartbreaking all at once, definitely a standout performance. One "external review" likened it to a Gen-X "Day of the Locust", but it reminded me a bit of Carson McCuller's "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter". If you can relate to the characters (who hasn't ever felt lonely, detached, unrecognized and without direction at some point?) then you will take away something from this movie.

If you're impatient, don't like movies on the depressing side, or by some luck have never had an unhappy day in your life then you would not like this movie.

Fine performances and a believable story revolve around a Yale graduate who is stuck in a rut of temp jobs. His bland friends can't help him get on his feet but a strange new roommate whom he thinks he can't stand actually brings out the life that he has pent up inside. At first glance this film may seem slow, a bit dark, and even depressing, but when examined as a whole after completion it really is a little slice of art with stand out performances from Cochrane, Sedgwick, and Astin.

For the most part, I thought that "The Low Life" moved pretty slowly. But even so, it's still worth seeing, if only as a character study. The main character is John Martin (Rory Cochrane), who has moved to Los Angeles hoping to make something of himself, but has to separate carbon copies to make ends meet. He has to stay with geeky Andrew (Sean Astin). Surrounded by several different kinds of people, John tries to maintain his identity however possible.

So, there's nothing particularly special about this movie. Maybe it's worth seeing once. But the entire cast does some interesting things with the characters. I think that that's about the best description that I can give; much of the movie confused me.

Also starring Kyra Sedgwick, James Le Gros, J.T. Walsh, Shawnee Smith, and Renee Zellweger in an early role (she plays the poet).

The characters don't interact with each other very well, but separately they are very interesting. I especially liked Sean Astin's Andrew, a lonely twenty-something with a penchant for 80s power ballads. James LeGros is up to his usual standards as Michael Schroeder, Jr., the landlord who sends his temps to do everything from plumbing to evictions.

I usually like Rory Cochrane, but either his character wasn't written all that well (probably the case) or he didn't do it very well. At the end you're more interested in Andrew's fate than anyone else's.