High-Rise (2015)
Genre: Drama / Action
Duration: 119 minuten
Country:
United Kingdom / Belgium
Directed by: Ben Wheatley
Stars: Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons and Sienna Miller
IMDb score:
5,5 (47.391)
Releasedate: 22 November 2015
High-Rise plot
"Leave the real world behind"
Robert Laing, a young doctor, is seduced by the lifestyle of an elegant 40-storey high-rise block, an isolated community cut off from the rest of society in a luxurious tower block designed by architect Anthony Royal. Laing takes up residence on the twenty-fifth floor and discovers a world of complex loyalties. He also begins a relationship with Charlotte, Royal's devoted assistant.
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Actors and actresses
Dr. Robert Laing
Helen Wilder
Charlotte Melville
Anthony Royal
Richard Wilder
Nathan Steele
Simmons
Pangbourne
Cosgrove
Fay
Reviews & comments
Halcyon
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- 9952 messages
- 0 votes
For starters, Ballard's book is incredibly rewarding. It takes place in a skyscraper that is actually a metaphor for the decay of an entire society in which different layers of the population come into conflict with each other, moreover, it is an organic entity in which interpersonal processes and all their excesses proliferate. To the point where things escalate.
Although a film is plot-wise much more limited than a book, it still manages to adequately portray Ballard's point of view in High-Rise. This is done on the basis of a fragmentary approach with time jumps that require some effort from the viewer, an effort to fill in certain matters themselves and to go along with the logic of the characters. Although this aspect remains underexposed, in the sense that even the central characters are observed very distantly. But that is also secretly enjoyable, because as a viewer you have the feeling of being a voyeur during the excesses (ranging from violence and sex to decadent ideas) without really being involved. Slowly but surely, the apartment building, both literally and figuratively, is sinking into its own madness. The darkest sides in every resident will manifest themselves so strongly that, despite the high-tech gadgets, a primitive mini-society arises.
It is difficult to judge whether this is a good film adaptation. I tend to say yes. In any case, it is a worthy attempt, with its own visual language admittedly, but you still have the impression that Ballard's book is just a bit too complex for an audiovisual translation. And I also wonder what Cronenberg—himself a notorious Ballard fan (see Crash)—would think about this, and what his hypothetical adaptation of this story would have looked like.
Translated from Dutch · View original
sinterklaas
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- 11821 messages
- 3321 votes
It reminds me a bit of Snowpiercer, but in a futuristic apartment building, and with less gore, action and heaviness. It does flow on but always manages to captivate because of the many interesting characters and the artificial, carefully put together sets. Jeremy Irons again plays an excellent role as a passive middle class who has just moved into the building. Soon he is introduced to the reckless Wilder and falls in love with Wilder's sister Charlotte and… is introduced to both the underclass and the upper class in the building. A psychological power play between the two parties is inevitable... but manages to make it impossible for the viewer to choose exactly which side to choose. On the one hand, you would think that high-classers are always selfish and selfish.... but it also seems suspiciously like the lower-classers continue to provoke....
And what remains relatively innocent in the beginning, eventually becomes a surreal coincidence. The battle is portrayed subtly and psychedelically here and it is still questionable why all this should have happened. No, I think this is nicely done.
And then the atmosphere and the decoration. Simply sublime and carefully made. Afterwards you start to realize that Wheatley did his best to make this a real retro 70s movie. Without using any things from the present. As if it's a late hitchhiker from A Clockwork Orange.
A visual gem.
4.0*
Translated from Dutch · View original
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