Lowlife

LOWLIFE was hyped up quite a bit for supposed similarities to PULP FICTION. It's similar on the surface only, and while it's not nearly as good as the earlier film, it's still a lot of fun.

For a low budget film, the acting and production value are very good. There are two or three very fun scenes. There's some corny stuff in here too, but nothing too bad. Feels like the filmmakers had a pretty good idea of what they were doing. Recommend.

See the pic of the cover in my trakt movie collection loads and never watched it,then one day thought let's see what it's like,and for a low budget not famous cast,and not a big cast can't be more then 20 people in the whole film.I was very surprised and happy with it,it's a deep dark and humerous film with a few plot twists that all lead to one,well written and directed and the character of El monsteruo is class,and the films antagonist Teddy bear Haynes played brilliant and well makes the movie a good watch,also the Eminem lookalike Randy makes the movie a very underrated movie

What tangled webs.

Wildly original, gory as hell and convoluted...Lowlife lives up to its name. It's not a story you can look away from at any given time. You gotta pay attention.

This is one hard movie to summarize. There are multiple stories, characters and intersections between the two. Basically, we're following pretty bad people all with unique motivations of their own. Some want to better their situations, but with any means possible. Others relish in their evildoings.

This is not a simple story to write a synopsis about. I recommend it because I love multi-storyline films with many characters crossing over the layers. Due to the enormously different and deep players and their needs, this never let me down in for a moment. I wanted more and more until the cinematic climax.

It's not for everyone, especially the squeamish and for those who want simple, Hollywood A-B-C storytelling - especially with clear villains and heroes. This is for those who want to go dark and experience creativity.

Funny, this is almost Breaking Bad Ver 2.

***

Final thoughts: Really just wanted to see what Nacho Libre looked like underneath his monstrous mask and thanks to IMDb, I finally did. Annnd I'm sad he had to hide such an incredible mug.

Specifically, Nicki Micheaux's acting. After I saw "Lowlife" I had to look her up, see what she had done before. For a Tarantino-esque crime thriller her acting was right on point, dare I say even Oscar worthy?

I like films where you see things that you've never seen before. In this case, there were quite a few, from the failed luchador who keeps his mask on all the time to the kid with the swastika on his face who, as it turned out, wasn't even racist at all. You can file this one under "must see." It'll be worth it.

Life is tough for a down on his luck Mexican wrestling masked hero. Crime fighting doesn't really pay, so El Monstruo is relegated to thug duty. The conflicted good guy is a complex character, eager to carry on his family tradition (daddy was a famous luchador), but with a baby on the way, he stoops to henchman duties for local crime boss Teddy to pay the bills, usually with uncontrollably violent results.

That's plenty for plot, but this film throws in a heaping helping of parallel story lines for a rather convoluted viewing experience. Major events are replayed through different characters, and alternate angles, resulting in some much needed clarity, as everything comes together nicely, and not so nicely in the end.

The very seedy side of L.A. is the backdrop here, where illegals are funnelled towards horrific futures as prostitutes, or donors for a lucrative organ harvesting operation, or both. Grisly, old school gore movies are referenced as is some of Tarantino's spicier moments, but "Lowlife" works best on it's own originality: tackling very big global topics with local struggles.

"Lowlife" struggles from the usual low budget issues, mainly uneven performances - Teddy is too wooden - but the clever, spiderweb tale, wild sequences, and quirky characters make up for it: here's a newly released convict with a full face Swastika tattoo, who is refreshingly likeable. No, really.