This article contains mentions of drug abuse.
Timothy Olyphant has proven time and time again that his talent is not limited to just one genre. The actor also proved relatively early on that he could break out of the cast, something many of his peers have tried to do for decades. He became a western star in the 2000s thanks to his iconic roles in projects like Dead wood And Justifiedand many fans still associate the actor with the genre today, but he has delivered equally fantastic performances in wildly contrasting films and TV shows throughout his career. Comedy is certainly one of his strengths, and his starring role as Dick in the 2009 heist film. High life is a great example of this.
High life remains one of the most unknown films in Timothy Olyphant’s filmography. Not to be confused with the 2018 arthouse sci-fi film directed by Claire Denis, this earlier film of the same title is a Canadian comedy about a seemingly low-stakes heist that goes incredibly wrong. Directed by Gary Yates, this period film follows a group of drug addicts who decide to rob brand-new ATMs in the 1980s. After starring in it, Olyphant began choosing more comedic roles and quickly established himself as a sought-after comedy star.
High Life shows the mess caused by four drug addicts turned ambitious
High life is a clever heist comedy that explores the misguided lives of some of society’s underdogs during the technological boom of America’s “consumer dream” era of the 1980s. The film is based on Lee MacDougall’s first play as a writer, and the screenplay was adapted by MacDougall himself, who received a Genie Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2011 for his work on this film. High life premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2009 and won Best Canadian Feature Film at the Calgary International Film Festival later that year.
Film critics like Johanna Schneller ranked it among the best films of 2010, the year of its official wide release. Despite the rather positive reception at the time of its release and a resurgence of interest over the years, the film remains a hidden gem. High life It may not be the funniest or best-written comedy film of the 2000s, but it has a clever plot that still holds up today and should definitely be seen by a wider audience, especially fans of Timothy Olyphant, who will appreciate his remarkable performance.
The film follows a group of four drug addicts who plan and execute a bank heist that goes incredibly wrong. Timothy Olyphant plays the lead role, Dick, who works as a hospital maintenance staffer after serving a prison sentence. His former cellmate Bug, played by the late Stephen Eric McIntyre, shows up unannounced at Dick’s workplace immediately after being released from prison himself. Bug continues to light a cigarette and steal medical equipment, causing Dick to be fired on the spot.
As they return to Dick’s apartment to do drugs, Bug is impressed by how much technology and culture have changed since his incarceration. The dialogue focuses on the existence of new “ATMs” that distribute money from an account directly to the customer, without the need for a bank employee. Since he no longer has a job, this conversation with Bug gives Dick an idea for a seemingly low-stakes heist: flying in a machine means they wouldn’t have to kill or hurt anyone. The biggest problem with this idea is that Bug is an unpredictable sociopath struggling with his sexuality and willing to pull the trigger on anyone who gets in his way.
Dick recruits two other drug addicts for his heist team and carefully hatches a plan in which they would trick nearby workers and steal the machines. Rossif Sutherland plays Billy, a charming young man whom Dick meets at a Narcotics Anonymous group meeting. Joe Anderson plays Donnie, someone Dick and Bug met in prison. The four men gather to inject crushed morphine pills and listen to Dick’s plan, which they all agree on. Each of these four crew members has their amusing quirks, but Dick is the character that stands out thanks to Timothy Olyphant’s fitting performance. Compared to her lead role in the neo-Western drama series Justified Barely a year later, the actor is almost unrecognizable as this morphine fiend who looks like he needs a long bath. Although many of Olyphant’s roles at the time had comedic overtones, this one in High life it meant taking a risk, and it paid off.
Timothy Olyphant pursued more comedic roles after his great life
Timothy Olyphant has never been one to limit himself in terms of genre or medium. His first major acting job was in the 1995 off-Broadway play. The monogamistfor which he won a Theater World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance. This immediate success on stage catapulted him to Hollywood, but his early film and television roles were mostly minor. His first feature film was playing a boring director in the 1996 comedy that still needs a sequel, The First Wives Clubproving early on that he had a special talent for the genre. He later starred in a few popular films and shows, including the role of the surprise antagonist in Scream 2 and guest appearing in Sex and the city.
Olyphant’s first major role in a comedy film came as part of an ensemble in 1999, starring alongside Christina Ricci in the independent film. Complete. He then had a supporting role as a drug dealer in another comedy, the 1999 film. Go. In the early 2000s, he gained more experience in several genres, from action to romantic comedy. But after being cast as the lead in the 2009 dark comedy High lifewhich was her first time as the lead star of a non-romantic comedy, her career began to change.
He had already achieved leading man status by this time, especially after the 2007 video game film. Hitmanbut he was still often labeled as a bad boy or an idol (or both at the same time). A well-meaning addict lost in his own delusions, High life‘s Dick represented an interesting new direction for the actor. This role stood out even from his previous portrayals of drug dealers in Go and in the 2003 action thriller A man apart.
A few years before High lifeOlyphant’s big break on television came with the dark HBO western hit Dead wood. The 2004 series established him as a leading man on television before becoming a frequent protagonist in cinema, and it was the first time he was able to somewhat challenge his casting. According to Matt Zoller Seitz of Vulture, he was previously considered “a weird bad boy” in the industry. However, playing the righteous lawman Seth Bullock in Dead wood meant a significant change that highlighted his range. Despite this, Olyphant continued to be cast as a heartthrob or bad boy in later roles until High life.
After Hitmancritic Todd McCarthy of Variety described Olyphant as “an actor capable of portraying ambiguities and subtle thoughts”, suggesting that he should go beyond his usual types of roles. Olyphant himself had the same thought, sharing his experience on Hitman gave him a new perspective on choosing his later roles during a 2010 interview with The AV Club. He said: “It motivated me to take a little more responsibility for what I was doing. I really liked the director and a lot of people who worked on the film, but there was definitely a part of me that was like, ‘What am I doing here?'”
Following High life and his acclaimed run on JustifiedOlyphant began taking on more comedic roles. During Justified’s for six seasons he made occasional appearances on comedy TV shows like The office And The Mindy Projectproving beyond doubt that he had a natural comedic talent that was underutilized. Over time, he developed a reputation for his precise comedic timing and his ability to bring a bit of humor even to serious roles.
The actor continues to be primarily associated with westerns, action and drama, but his fans know how well he fits into the comedy genre. In both lead and supporting roles, he has been in high demand in comedy films for over a decade now. He particularly stood out in projects like the 2013 film Dealing with idiotsthe 2014 film This is where I leave youthe 2015 sitcom The crusherthe 2016 play Hold on to me darlingand the 2017 Netflix horror comedy series Santa Clarita Diet.
High life
- Release date
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February 7, 2009
- Runtime
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80 minutes
- Director
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Gary Yates
- Writers
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Lee MacDougall
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Stephen Eric McIntyre
Bug
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