This Beautiful City

Pretty (Kristin Booth) is a prostitute and her boyfriend Johnny (Aaron Poole) is her pimp. Carol (Caroline Cave) and Harry (Noam Jenkins) seems to be a content couple. Peter (Stuart Hughes) is a cop working on a missing person case. In a Toronto apartment, Carol sneaks a cigarette on the balcony. She falls off. She lands near Pretty and Johnny, and they run off. Peter arrives to hold her hand. Did she fall or was it deliberate? Three months later, Carol comes home from the hospital. She reconnects with Peter who is leaving the police force for stress. Harry tries to help Pretty who has become strung out on drugs. Johnny is trying to get her to stop but gets caught up in a murder and is suffering health problems.

This is a low-budget indie. The interconnected story can be disjointed viewing. What pulls it all together is five compelling performances. Booth, Poole and Cave stand out especially. They are top-notched worthy of every praise. The movie could use better style and better production. Writer/director Ed Gass-Donnelly is a newcomer with possibly something to say.