A building of live-fast adults, inhabit a shelter of rich and lavish lifetstyles, in “High-Rise”. Based off of the J.G Ballard novel of the same name, “High-Rise” stars Tom Hiddleston as Dr. Robert Laing, the newest resident of a luxurious skyline apartment in a high-tech concrete skyscraper whose lofty location places him amongst the upper class. Laing quickly settles into high society life and meets the building’s eccentric tenants: Charlotte (Sienna Miller), his upstairs neighbor and bohemian single mother; Wilder (Luke Evans), a charismatic documentarian who lives with his pregnant wife Helen (Elizabeth Moss); and Mr. Royal (Jeremy Irons), the enigmatic architect who designed the building. Life seems like paradise to the solitude-seeking Laing. But as power outages become more frequent and building flaws emerge, particularly on the lower floors, the regimented social strata begins to crumble and the building becomes a battlefield in a literal class war. “High-Rise” is directed by Ben Wheatley, and is rated R for for violence, disturbing images, strong sexual content/graphic nudity, adult language and some drug use.
Very few films have the effect psychologically on me that “High-Rise” did. From a social commentary standpoint, Ballard’s novel seductively tiptoes the kinds of lifestyle biases that comes with deep pockets. These eye-opening editorials on how society will crumble when forced together, is certainly one of many original takes for a film that is more than forty years in the making. Wheatley’s on-screen adaptation offers an artistic backdrop, amongst a screenplay that is disappointingly played for dark humor laughs. This decision in tone, hinders the film’s creative stigma almost to the point of making this movie a bumbling mess, but there’s plenty to enjoy visually from such a big-budget look.
The first act tends to welcome viewers into the world of these characters. We’re not told during what decade the film takes place, but my guess is the 70’s by its multi-color shag carpeted designs, as well as wardrobe choices that all but point to this theory. There’s also that post-Vietnam feel of monetary greed and paranoia that set a lot of people’s attention on a future that was anything but secure. That is perhaps the only time when these characters felt human to me. Their choice for rich tastes and lifestyles forced them to step on anyone they can, and I for one can’t stand to spend two hours with this crowd, even if that is the point of such a story. Then the second act happens, and all hell breaks loose. Once the cracks start to show literally and figuratively in the High-Rise, we see the very same wear-and-tear in the script that doesn’t offer a lot of build for a big payoff. Shocking visuals just seem to come out of nowhere without very much development in the on-going tribulations for our characters, and it doesn’t lead to the biggest of payoffs when we finally do get hit with the haunting realities of our doomed characters. Once you cross that line creatively into the dark directions that this film takes, you sort of wave goodbye to anything else that the movie had for itself up to that point. From this point on, the film is one string of madness after another, and bad things happen without much logic or reasoning for their impact. The film jumps quickly from 0 to 10 on its mayhem scale quickly, and I wish it could’ve taken more time to show the cracks instead of the instant crumble.
As for the sets, everything feels top-dollar here. The screenplay material really molds the way we view the world outside of the building into it, so the home to these people includes a supermarket, school, gym and swimming pool among its many features. On top of this, no dollar is wasted on 70s style automobiles that surround the building’s parking level. Since the entirety of the film is inside of this building, this really is the way we see the world and its many ideals played out on the social ladder. The rich people live higher up in the High-Rise, and the less wealthy live down below. This serves as a very complex metaphor that carefully communicates to the audience where the problems will start when they hit. With the combination of two drastically different lifestyles so closely together, it certainly grants the audience more than one hint at the blurring of the social line the more that greed comes into play.
The film’s performances from its A-list cast were pleasing, but it’s in their development that is one of the few problems that I did have for the movie. Hiddleston is our protagonist for the film, but I felt that the movie kind of skipped over any kind of backstory, despite hinting at some past troubles with his family. It never comes to materialize, and we are left with a shell of a person who never tickled my interest. Luke Evans gives his best performance to date, as the powder keg ammunition to the social warfare that is about to break between the classes. Evans Wilder is a flawed man, but one whose dream for a better living for his family certainly deserved more focus. Just when Evans starts going, the movie kind of sprinkles instead of spreads this positive, and there are noticeable lapses in time without his character’s presence. One previously unmentioned cast member who steals the show during the third act, is that of James Purefoy as Pangourine. Purefoy softly commands the power of Jeremy Irons character, and then uses it in a cult-like manner when he is granted such a respect. It’s through the eyes of Pangourine that we really start to understand the tragedy of just how far and fast that this apartment complex has fallen, and Purefoy’s sinister presence is one that should fill our screens for years to come.
Overall, “High-Rise” is a tough recommend for anyone who doesn’t dig social reflective pieces. With more than one logical script inaccuracies plaguing my watching, the movie’s visual ambition isn’t given a creative counterpart to offer fans of the book a faithful memory for such an important novel in time. The movie is a lot like the magnificent structure that our characters inhabit; imposing on the surface, but filled with problems the deeper you go.
5/10