High-Rise - directed by Ben Wheatley
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons, Luke Evans, Elisabeth Moss, Keeley Hawes, James Purefoy, Sienna Guillory, Peter Ferdinando, Reece Shearsmith, Tony Way, Augustus Prew, Enzo Cilenti, Dan Renton Skinner, Stacy Martin, Bill Paterson, Alexandra Weaver
Screenplay: Amy Jump (from J.G Ballard's novel)
Ben Wheatley is an interesting director.
His black, black comedy "Sightseers" is a wonderfully sick little treat that ages well over repeated viewings.
With "High-Rise" he again collaborates with "Sightseers" co-writer Amy Jump to bring J.G Ballard's 1975 novel of the same name to the screen.
It is widely regarded as a pretty tough piece of writing to make a film out of.
It's a common factor with the author's work - David Cronenberg took on his controversial "Crash" in 1996 to generally positive reviews.
And so it is with "High-Rise".
Ben Wheatley's film has been praised for its take on Ballard's tale of a futuristic high-rise apartment building that devolves into chaos as the tenants turn on each other.
The idea of a structure as a macrocosm of society as a whole is nothing new.
Recently the excellent "Snowpiercer" used a train as such a thing with the social standing of the passengers increasing the closer to the front we moved.
In "High-Rise" the basic idea is the same but of course the it is the height of the floor that dictates the tenants standing.
Doctor Laing (Hiddleston) moves into the 25th floor - some 15 floors below the penthouse belonging to Royal the architect who designed the building and who still tinkers with and tweaks it.
Jeremy Irons portrays Royal as a charismatic but cruel figure who torments his spoiled wife.
She dresses like Little Bo Peep and has a goat and a horse on the rooftop garden.
The other tenants include the self obsessed Charlotte (Sienna Miller), the heavily pregnant (and overdue) Helen Wilder (Elisabeth Moss), her disloyal husband Richard (Luke Evans) and newsreader Paul Cosgrove (Peter Ferdinando)
A series of problems including blocked rubbish disposal systems, loss of water and frequent power cuts start to cause unease amidst the residents of the building.
Worst off are the lower floored residents.
After falsely advising an irritating medical student that a brain scan had come back 'showing something' the young man throes himself off the 39th floor landing messily on a car below.
It is apparent very early on that the movie is going to function completely subtextually.
The building as metaphor for class struggles is the obvious starting point of course.
As things get worse and worse the residents allow themselves to indulge in the anti-social behaviour that their environment allows.
It's a fascinating idea but it grows tiresome quickly thanks to a lack of anyone to identify with.
Hiddleston's Laing is so devoid of personality that I found myself completely disinterested in his fate.
Miller's Charlotte is a manipulative phony, appalling Mother and out and out bore.
Even Royal is hard to get a feel for.
By the time things get really, really bad and the body pile up I couldn't have cared less.
There's no doubt that this is a topical and timely subject but having someone at the centre to stand in for the audience would have done this film a huge favour.
Not having read the book I can't comment as to whether or not this was a possibility.
I am assuming that husband and wife team Whealtey and Jump stayed relatively close to Ballard's story but if so I'd suggest that straying in a few areas would have served the film well.
It's a shame because this is a well made film with a brilliant cast.
James Purefoy, Keeley Hawes and Sienna Guillory (as a vain talentless actress) are- like the main cast- exceptionally good.
Evans is the standout for me.
As Wilder he gets the juiciest stuff.
Wilder goes off the rails in glorious fashion as he completely gives in to his basest instincts.
Evans looks like he is having a great time.
I, however was not.
This film dragged for me and held few surprises as it chugged its way to a ending that we already knew courtesy of an opening scene that it loops back to at the end.
As much as I admired the direction and the performances everything else left me cold.
I was looking forward to this immensely after "Sightseers" but I'm afraid this came close to boring me.
I overheard a woman a few seats down from me at the end of the movie giving her appraisal.
She seemed to understand that this was the sort of film that one should like as she said 'That was totally good.... class struggles eh?'.
She said what she believed was the correct response I'm sure but her passionless and obvious comments is ironically in line with the film that we just watched.
RATING: 65 / 100
CONCLUSION: A well made but difficult film to enjoy. It offers nothing or no one that the audience can identify with or root for. A slickly produced, well acted mess.
Screenplay: Amy Jump (from J.G Ballard's novel)
Music Score by: Clint Mansell
Cinematography: Laurie Rose
Edited by: Amy Jump & Ben Wheatley
Running Time: 119 minutes
Language: English
Rated: R16 - violence, language and brief nudity
Cinematography: Laurie Rose
Edited by: Amy Jump & Ben Wheatley
Running Time: 119 minutes
Language: English
Rated: R16 - violence, language and brief nudity
Ben Wheatley is an interesting director.
His black, black comedy "Sightseers" is a wonderfully sick little treat that ages well over repeated viewings.
With "High-Rise" he again collaborates with "Sightseers" co-writer Amy Jump to bring J.G Ballard's 1975 novel of the same name to the screen.
It is widely regarded as a pretty tough piece of writing to make a film out of.
It's a common factor with the author's work - David Cronenberg took on his controversial "Crash" in 1996 to generally positive reviews.
And so it is with "High-Rise".
Ben Wheatley's film has been praised for its take on Ballard's tale of a futuristic high-rise apartment building that devolves into chaos as the tenants turn on each other.
The idea of a structure as a macrocosm of society as a whole is nothing new.
Recently the excellent "Snowpiercer" used a train as such a thing with the social standing of the passengers increasing the closer to the front we moved.
In "High-Rise" the basic idea is the same but of course the it is the height of the floor that dictates the tenants standing.
Doctor Laing (Hiddleston) moves into the 25th floor - some 15 floors below the penthouse belonging to Royal the architect who designed the building and who still tinkers with and tweaks it.
Jeremy Irons portrays Royal as a charismatic but cruel figure who torments his spoiled wife.
She dresses like Little Bo Peep and has a goat and a horse on the rooftop garden.
The other tenants include the self obsessed Charlotte (Sienna Miller), the heavily pregnant (and overdue) Helen Wilder (Elisabeth Moss), her disloyal husband Richard (Luke Evans) and newsreader Paul Cosgrove (Peter Ferdinando)
A series of problems including blocked rubbish disposal systems, loss of water and frequent power cuts start to cause unease amidst the residents of the building.
Worst off are the lower floored residents.
After falsely advising an irritating medical student that a brain scan had come back 'showing something' the young man throes himself off the 39th floor landing messily on a car below.
 |
| The building, the architect and the social structures |
The building as metaphor for class struggles is the obvious starting point of course.
As things get worse and worse the residents allow themselves to indulge in the anti-social behaviour that their environment allows.
It's a fascinating idea but it grows tiresome quickly thanks to a lack of anyone to identify with.
Hiddleston's Laing is so devoid of personality that I found myself completely disinterested in his fate.
Miller's Charlotte is a manipulative phony, appalling Mother and out and out bore.
Even Royal is hard to get a feel for.
By the time things get really, really bad and the body pile up I couldn't have cared less.
There's no doubt that this is a topical and timely subject but having someone at the centre to stand in for the audience would have done this film a huge favour.
Not having read the book I can't comment as to whether or not this was a possibility.
I am assuming that husband and wife team Whealtey and Jump stayed relatively close to Ballard's story but if so I'd suggest that straying in a few areas would have served the film well.
It's a shame because this is a well made film with a brilliant cast.
James Purefoy, Keeley Hawes and Sienna Guillory (as a vain talentless actress) are- like the main cast- exceptionally good.
Evans is the standout for me.
As Wilder he gets the juiciest stuff.
Wilder goes off the rails in glorious fashion as he completely gives in to his basest instincts.
Evans looks like he is having a great time.
 |
| A tale of two Siennas.... (left_ Sienna Miller as Charlotte and (right) Sienna Guillory as Jane |
This film dragged for me and held few surprises as it chugged its way to a ending that we already knew courtesy of an opening scene that it loops back to at the end.
As much as I admired the direction and the performances everything else left me cold.
I was looking forward to this immensely after "Sightseers" but I'm afraid this came close to boring me.
I overheard a woman a few seats down from me at the end of the movie giving her appraisal.
She seemed to understand that this was the sort of film that one should like as she said 'That was totally good.... class struggles eh?'.
She said what she believed was the correct response I'm sure but her passionless and obvious comments is ironically in line with the film that we just watched.
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