In a summer season filled with superheroes, intergalactic adventurers and Baz Luhrmann at his Baz Luhrmann-iest, I wouldn’t blame you for overlooking the tiny corn industry indie "At Any Price."

Even with the presence of a couple of thrillingly captured dirt track races and stars like Zac Efron and Dennis Quaid, the four-word combination of "corn industry family drama" doesn’t quite sell as well as "more drunken Vegas shenanigans." For audiences looking for a respite from the usual testosterone-filled summer chaos, however, director Ramin Bahrani’s modest movie might just fit the bill.

Quaid stars as Henry Whipple, the ambitious, self-absorbed seed-selling patriarch of a large, multigenerational Iowa corn farm (his father, played by Red West, often drops by to tell him what he’s doing wrong, which, according to him, is pretty much everything). Don’t be fooled by his Americana profession, folksy Midwestern accent and pleasant-sounding last name. It’s a cutthroat business, with constant reminders to "expand or die."

Henry has taken this advice to heart, becoming one of the larger seed sellers in the region ­– "number one seed salesman in seven counties" is basically his catchphrase – through his hard work, friendly country bravado and a good amount of business schmuckery. Early on in the film, he visits a funeral to talk to the departed’s son about selling his land.

All at once, however, things start to fall apart for the Whipple clan. Food authorities are snooping around the farm, asking to look at his sales forms and crops for signs of illegal seed cleaning. Henry’s secret affair with an attractive local (Heather Graham) is less of a secret than he thought. Worst of all, his claim to being the top salesman in seven counties is put at risk by Jim Johnson (Clancy Brown), a new rival.

Henry isn’t just jealous of Jim’s growing business. Jim’s two loyal sons are like an alternate universe version of Henry’s two boys. The Whipples' beloved eldest is extending his college years by backpacking in South America, while the other (Efron) is a rebellious wannabe race car driver who wants no part of the family business, or Iowa for that matter.

There is almost as much melodrama on the farm as corn in Bahrani’s tale of mixed-up morals and economic desperation in the Midwest. There are plenty of secret trysts, and the shady business drama gets heated to the point where blood hits the stalks.

It gets dangerously close to becoming overheated, but Bahrani and co-writer Hallie Elizabeth Newton never let the story spin out of control. Instead, Bahrani uses his keen, quietly observant direction to keep a strong hold on the film’s humanity. As a result, even when the soapy melodrama takes over, "At Any Price" is still effective.

Helping Bahrani’s cause is Quaid’s unexpectedly solid performance. He’s not a common name to independent cinema, and to be honest, I wasn’t buying him as Henry at first. Too much obvious sleaze and not enough savvy. His enthusiasm eventually wore me down and, by the time the movie reached a key late conversation between Jim and our conscience-burdened lead, the performance had won me over just like one of Henry’s customers

Efron is not quite as lucky. With this and last year’s sweaty indie mess "The Paperboy," it’s clear he wants to try new things and find the bold script that finally takes him out of the shadow of "High School Musical," but he never really disappears into his admittedly difficult character (for most of the film, Dean’s an unrepentantly whiny brat). He sounds more like the Whipples’ adopted son from the West Coast rather than a corn-fed child of the Midwest.

Efron’s shortcomings are not a dealbreaker, however, because Bahrani is at the helm. "At Any Price" is easily the biggest feature for the young director (who made his name with 2005’s barebones indie "Man Push Cart"), but the larger stage doesn’t appear to have changed him. Even when the movie threatens to run off the rails, his natural and thoughtful storytelling keeps it together.

It could have been a melodramatic mess, but under his composed control, it’s a surprisingly potent tale about the emotional cost of "go big or go home." Actually, I know some recent summer blockbusters that could use that lesson too.