This Beautiful City

On a Friday night in Toronto’s lower west end, the lively conversation from a dinner party at Harry and Carol’s upscale condo drifts through an open balcony door. Meanwhile, in the alley below, two freebasing cocaine users, Pretty and Johnny, are having their own gathering. As the dinner guests depart, the hostess is nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, a wet thud followed by a piercing scream echoes up to the balcony. Pretty looks on in horror at Carol’s body sprawled on the alley floor, while Harry cries out for help from above. The blaring police sirens prompt the cokeheads to flee as Peter, a middle-aged police officer, rushes from his patrol car to check on Carol’s condition. Fast forward three months, and the lives of these five individuals begin to collide in a dramatic intertwining of narratives, unleashing bursts of long-repressed desires and aggression. Sometimes, hitting rock bottom can lead to unexpectedly beautiful outcomes.