18. High-Rise

18. HIGH-RISE

Director: Ben Wheatley

Release date: August 18, 2016

J.G. Ballard’s cult classic novel finally made it to the screen this year. It had been a dream project for British producer Jeremy Thomas since the 1970s, and his vision was realised with deliciously retro and kaleidoscopic panache by UK director Ben Wheatley.

Ballard’s exploration of social structure, class tension and the impacts of technology on the human psyche proved entertaining cinematic material, and Wheatley clearly relished the black comedy and violent anarchy of the source novel.

High-Rise follows Dr. Robert Laing (Tom Hiddleston) as he moves into an innovative, self-contained block of apartments. With its own supermarket and recreational outlets, there’s really no need to leave the building, except to step into the real world to hold down a job.

The high-rise was designed by esteemed architect Anthony Royal (Jeremy Irons), a zen-like visionary who, naturally, lives in the lavish apartment that takes up the very top floor. Within the building is a class structure, with poor families able to afford lower apartments and the upper class live closer to the top.

Continued power outages and other technical difficulties see the social structure within the high-rise start to erode, teetering on the brink of chaos.

To enjoy High-Rise you must suspend your sense of common logic and enjoy its sub-text and visual flair. Otherwise you’ll continue to ask why no one simply leaves the building when the inhabitants are gripped by the unfolding chaos. You’re rewarded for this suspension. This is prosaic cinema that remains wickedly funny and wildly absurd. Wheatley offers us a challenging piece of science fiction with a British sensibility, buoyed by a fine cast of actors (Sienna Miller, Luke Evans and Elizabeth Moss included) who clearly relish the pulpy material.