High-Rise, 2015.
Directed By Ben Wheatley.
Starring Tom Hiddleston, Luke Evans, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Elisabeth Moss, James Purefoy and Peter Ferndinando.
SYNOPSIS:
Life for the residents in a tower block spirals into chaos and debauchery following a power cut.
Adapting J.G. Ballard’s seminal dystopian novel High-Rise for the big screen was a long process: 40 years to be exact. After acquiring the film rights shortly after the release of the novel in 1975, British producer Jeremy Thomas began developing the project shortly thereafter with Nicolas Roeg attached to direct. However, it proved to be too difficult a task to bring to life, and was eventually abandoned as a lost cause. Then, in the year 2000, he tried again – this time with Vicenzo Natali given the reigns to helm the project, only to end up in the same position as Roeg. Ballard’s work hasn’t been the easiest to film, which is why very few have ever attempted to (the most successful until now was David Cronenberg’s Crash, which goes to show the type of visionary filmmaker the author’s work requires)
It takes a different kind of director and screenwriter to develop material as subversive and strange as Ballard’s: Enter Ben Wheatley, a director whom has rapidly established himself as a one-of-a-kind auteur in the truest sense, following an unpredictable congregation of films, ranging from crime dramas to arthouse horror and black comedies. If anybody was ever tailor-made to tackle the world of Ballard it was Wheatley, along with his screenwriter partner Amy Jump. After reading the book, they enquired about the rights and Thomas was more than happy to let them finally go where few have attempted. The end result is a successful adaptation that understands the source material and honours it as such, while still retaining Wheatley’s unique stamp.
High-Rise stars Tom Hiddleston as Dr. Robert Laing, a physiologist who lives in an apartment complex where each floor represents the wealth and position of the residents living on it. The richer you are, the higher up you live, and while none of the residents live in bottom-of-the-barrell poverty, the class divisions are evident and stature goes a long way. The building functions as a society in its own right; one which disintegrates into chaos following a power cut as the primal, savage natures of the residents are unleashed.
The cast is Wheatley’s most prolific to-date. In addition to Hiddleston as the detached Dr. Laing, Luke Evans stars as the menacing Richard Wilder, a pervert dissatisfied with life in the high-rise, yet entirely dependent on it. Jeremy Irons plays the architect Anthony Royal, whose power has become a façade with the decline of his illness, in turn losing respect and authority among the other privileged residents, along with his masculinity in the eyes of his wife. Sienna Miller puts in another almost unrecognisable turn as the carefree single parent Charlotte Melville, whose neglect of her aspiring Thatcherite son is overshadowed by her ability to mingle and throw the best parties in the block.
Perhaps too complex a film to dissect fully with one viewing, and definitely one that will completely polarise audiences, High-Rise is the type of science fiction madness we don’t see enough of these days. Despite being rooted in a recognisable world, it’s completely bonkers and alien approach makes it unlike anything you’re ever likely to see. It recalls British sci-fi of yesteryear; the type John Boorman and Terry Gilliam would be proud of. However, like those directors, it’s a unique offering from a visionary with his own style and niche in modern cinema.
High-Rise is an unhinged social satire and a mocking attack on privilege, wealth and materialism. It oscillates between moments of hilarity and savagery, with both often meeting at an intersect – especially when the proverbial shit hits the fan. In comparison to previous Wheatley films, it’s quite restrained, although it’s undoubtedly the most thought-provoking and unrestrained mainstream releases you’re likely to see this year. There aren’t any scenes as brutal as the hammer scene in Kill List, or as surreal as A Field In England – but exposition is kept to a fine line, and the arthouse sensibilities, off-kilter humour and eruptions of violence that have defined his other films are still intact, albeit in a much different way.
High-Rise is another winner from one of British cinemas most prolific directors. It all started in a Down Terrace back in 2009 with a cheap location and a camera. Now, it’s moved on up to the upper echelons of the High-Rise. Whatever location Wheatley decides to tackle next will surely represent that of a filmmaker capable of conquering the world.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Kieran Fisher
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Originally published March 9, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
