It’s testament to the emergence of Ben Wheatley as one of Britain’s most important new filmmakers that, as recently as 2009, he made the impressive Down Terrace in little over a week for a budget of £20,000. Now, seven years later, he presents his adaptation of J.G Ballard’s cult classic novel High-Rise, starring Tom Hiddleston, Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons, Elizabeth Moss and James Purefoy.
Hiddleston is Robert Laing, a young doctor living in a newly built luxury tower block in 1975 London. Isolated from the rest of society, he and the other residents separate themselves into a rigid class structure under the watchful eye of architect Anthony Royal. Befriending both Richard Wilder (Luke Evans), a documentary maker from the lower floors, and Charlotte, a devotee of Royal, Laing observes the self-segregation, as each social class transform into violent, tribe-like groups that clash for control of the tower block.
Ballard’s childhood in a World War II Japanese internment camp (on which he later wrote Empire of the Sun) led to much of his writing career exploring the impact of human beings in confinement, and how the removal of freedom quickly strips away all of the usual societal norms.
Like much of Wheatley’s work (and the novel itself), High-Rise admirably wastes no time in initially explaining the plot with unnecessary exposition, presenting a cast of seemingly normal, relatable human beings acting in a completely abnormal and unrelatable way. As the protagonist Laing offers nothing by way of heroics, he is as unlikeable in his inaction as everyone else.
The early promise of a repeat of Wheatley’s usual presentation of the allegorical is somewhat betrayed once the film unfolds further, with several moments of on-the-nose dialogue presenting something more literal than is necessary. But in defense of the director, there are very few problems with the film that aren’t present in the source material, and as such, High-Rise is an commendable representation of Ballard’s novel.
Although relying a little too heavily on montage to condense an already too long film, Wheatley does manage to achieve some stunning visuals in his set design and direction. On the whole, his cast too do a commendable job, with Hiddleston and Moss being particularly impressive.
While there is much of High-Rise to admire, there isn’t a huge amount to really enjoy. An entertaining, engaging opening act gives way to a wayward, dragging conclusion that ends with a specific moment of overkill with the use of a famous political speech. It’s a film that’s definitely worth watching, and is unlike the majority of other films that will be released this year, but different doesn’t always necessarily mean better.
High-Rise is on general release from Friday 18 March 2016 and will be showing at Broadway Cinema until Thursday 31 March 2016.
High-Rise Trailer
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