High-Rise (2015)

Life for the residents of a tower block begins to run out of control.

Director:

Ben Wheatley

Writers:

Amy Jump, J.G. Ballard (novel)

Stars:

Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller

4 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hiddleston	...	Laing
Jeremy Irons	...	Royal
Sienna Miller	...	Charlotte
Luke Evans	...	Wilder
Elisabeth Moss	...	Helen
James Purefoy	...	Pangbourne
Keeley Hawes	...	Ann
Peter Ferdinando	...	Cosgrove
Sienna Guillory	...	Jane
Reece Shearsmith	...	Steele
Enzo Cilenti	...	Talbot
Augustus Prew	...	Munrow
Dan Renton Skinner	...	Simmons (as Dan Skinner)
Stacy Martin	...	Fay
Tony Way	...	Robert the Caretaker

Storyline

Class struggle becomes all too real as a young doctor moves into a modern apartment block in suburban 1975 London. Drugs, drink & debauchery dissolve into murder, mayhem and misogyny in this pseudo-post-apocalyptic breakdown of societal norms.

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Plot Keywords:

sex standing up | high rise apartment building | male frontal nudity | male rear nudity | debauchery | 

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Taglines:

Leave the real world behind

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, disturbing images, strong sexual content/graphic nudity, language and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 April 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

High Rise

Filming Locations:

Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$79,887, 15 May 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$343,139, 29 July 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

HanWay Films, Film4, British Film Institute (BFI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White (super8 footage)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In early 2009, Vincenzo Natali was attached to write and direct this movie. In late 2010, he was joined by Richard Stanley, who helped him writing a new draft of the script which Natali was very happy with, but in the end was not produced.

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Goofs

At one point there's a car right outside the building with a clearly made-up number plate. Something like DAE 080X. The leading zero is incorrect, X is 1981 (the film is set in the 1970s) and the number plate font is the newer post-2001 one. A shame as the effort to amass all the cars must have been huge.

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Quotes

Laing: It's my paint!

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Connections

Referenced in Sean Bradley Reviews: Free Fire (2017)

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Soundtracks

Outside My Door
Written by Holger Czukay, Irmin Schmidt, Jaki Liebezeit, Michael Karoli and Malcolm Mooney
Published by Messer Music Ltd c/o Bucks Music Group Ltd
Performed by Can (as CAN)
Courtesy of Spoon Records

User Reviews

Failed attempt at art

I haven't read the book but judging it on its own merit I felt like this film tried to be something between The American Psycho and The Exterminating Angel. And it failed. It's lacking the subtlety of Bunuel's masterpiece as well as the wit of the latter, more modern film.

The Non-Subtlety: When Laing goes to a party above his class he is not just under-dressed, he is RIDICULOUSLY under-dressed. When he tries to help a the architect's wife with a malfunctioning control box, he doesn't just fail, he fails SPECTACULARLY. Scene after scene you get everything spelled out as clearly and unambiguously as possible and it gets tiresome very quickly. Was this not supposed to be an "art" kind of film? Was the director expecting only morons to come and see it?

The Lack of Wit: Even over-the-top films can still be enjoyable if they are handled right. The American Psycho is like that - the axe murder to the tune of Hip to be Square is fresh and whimsical, the business card scene was a FUN way to ridicule the main character's obsession. High-Rise on the other hand is just dull. I can't remember any one scene that I would want to rewatch just for the sake of it. Every one of them is just mechanistically chugging along with the plot.

On the bright side there are some interesting sets and costumes and certainly the actors are doing their best with what they are given so it's not an all-in-all terrible movie. It's just that what it is trying to do was done way better before - in the two films I mentioned above.