Tarantino-like, it has fresh touches
For their knotty indie crime drama “Lowlife,” writer-director Ryan Prows and his four credited co-screenwriters revive the lost art of the Quentin Tarantino ripoff. Though their gimmicky narrative structure doesn’t amount to much, it’s more entertaining than an unkinked “Lowlife” would’ve been.
The marvelously ornery Mark Burnham stars as Teddy “Bear” Haynes, a Los Angeles crime boss who uses addicts and immigrants here illegally to stock his human-trafficking and organharvesting businesses. “Lowlife” has a prologue and four chapters — with overlapping time frames — telling stories about the lives Haynes has ruined.
Those victims include: motel owner Crystal (Nicki Micheaux), whose alcoholic husband needs a kidney; El Monstruo (Ricardo Adam Zarate), a luchador who tries to be a hero to the needy while working as Haynes’ muscle; and Keith (Shaye Ogbanna), a white-collar criminal who gets dragged into one of the boss’ schemes, and asks for help from his ex-con pal Randy (Jon Oswald).
Randy, a nice guy with a prison-gang-mandated tattoo on his face, provides much of the comic relief, Crystal brings the gritty tragedy, and El Monstruo plays the comic book hero.
The tangled plot is too simple, and the film’s sociopolitical commentary too paltry. But “Lowlife” does have a refreshingly varied and up-to-date cast of characters. With seedy B-movies, just a bit of ambition elevates the generic. “Lowlife.” Not rated. Running time: 1 hour, 36 minutes. Playing: Arena CineLounge, Hollywood.