When a film reveals the irony of its title during the opening-credits montage, it’s a safe bet that what follows won’t be a study in subtlety. Clichd and formulaic, Alejandro Chomski’s intersecting-lives drama, set on the mean streets of Los Angeles, features a teenage runaway (Sarafyan), a Chinese stripper (Bai) with the requisite heart of gold and a Salvadoran illegal-immigrant busboy (Garcia). Hinging on a single plot point that’s made painfully clear during the first blurry flashback, A Beautiful Life has no surprises, save Bai Ling’s midfilm musical performance.—Andrew Grant
Opens Fri; Quad. Find showtimes
Watch the trailer