High Rise In Theaters May 13th
HIGH-RISE is the latest film by cult British director Ben Wheatley (Kill List, A Field in England), an ambitious adaptation of the J.G. Ballard novel of the same name.
HIGH-RISE stars Hiddleston as Dr. Robert Laing, the newest resident of a luxurious 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 (Miller), his upstairs neighbor and bohemian single mother; Wilder (Evans), a charismatic documentarian who lives with his pregnant wife Helen (Moss); and Mr. Royal (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. Jeremy Irons
High Rise is a slick, visually stimulating ,visceral feast for the senses and at times seems to confuse it self in stylized shots. As we watch a stoic Dr. Laing attempt to feel his way into the group of diverse tenants as he navigates the spoken and unspoken messages of the class strata of the building one can only wonder why he would want to live there. You’re either rich and classy which gets you on the upper floors or you’re just a commoner which gets you on the bottom. And within any society or group that defines it self with such clear boundaries; well we all know that anarchy and chaos is inevitable.
Elizabeth Moss and Tom Hiddleston
I didn’t read J.G Ballard’s novel but I can understand how one can get caught up in the life of a building and how a building can define you and own you. Filmmaker Ben Wheatley does not shy away from making his audience uncomfortable but forces you on the journey with Robert. You may not like High Rise but you will see the layers of humanity stripped to the bare bones.
Starring Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans and Elisabeth Moss
Directed by Ben Wheatley
Written by Amy Jump (screenplay) & J.G. Ballard (novel)