Review of This Beautiful City (2007) by Daniel P — 23 Apr 2012

Nominated for four Genie Awards...? Yeesh. This was a painful film to watch, and not in a good way. It tries to push some boundaries by finding commonalities between a "normal" couple and a junkie/prostitute couple, hinting at power dynamics in sexual relationships while giving you a window into destructive addiction and rehabilitation from what may or may not have been a suicide attempt.

Drama by omission just doesn't work for me, and the main flaw is that the answer is clearly on film, just cut out; it doesn't leave you wondering, it just annoys you. The film's last third gets watchable, finally, when some of the threads start to come together, but it's too little, too late, and for the record, I'm getting really tired of the "Surprise, everyone in this movie knows each other!" ending (still more drama by omission).

Yes, I spoiled the ending. With any luck, you'll not bother to watch it.