High-Rise (2015)
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A luxury high-rise building becomes a microcosm of social collapse as its infrastructure fails and class warfare erupts.
The story
Set in 1975, the film depicts a luxury tower block on the outskirts of London designed by architect Anthony Royal. The building features modern amenities that allow wealthy residents on the top floors and poorer residents below to become increasingly isolated from the outside world. When Dr. Robert Laing moves into the building, he begins to observe the growing friction between the occupants. As the building's infrastructure begins to fail—marked by frequent power cuts, water shut-offs, and blocked garbage chutes—the residents' social order begins to disintegrate, leading to a descent into chaos and escalating class warfare.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In September 1975, Dr. Robert Laing moves into a 40-storey luxury tower block in London. He begins a relationship with Charlotte Melville and befriends a documentary filmmaker, Richard Wilder. However, the building's amenities begin to fail, and the social hierarchy between the wealthy upper floors and poorer lower floors creates intense friction. After a series of power cuts and incidents of violence, a resident named Munrow commits suicide by jumping from the 39th floor. Law and order disintegrate as class warfare erupts, garbage piles up, and food becomes scarce. Laing begins to show signs of mental disturbance, while Wilder becomes obsessed with exposing the injustices of the building's architect, Anthony Royal. Wilder eventually discovers that Royal has bribed authorities to ignore the chaos. After a series of brutal acts, including the murder of a newsreader and the butchering of a horse for meat, Wilder attempts to kill Royal. After a confrontation, Wilder shoots Royal dead but is subsequently stabbed to death by Royal's women. The film ends in the ravaged building, where Laing appears to have lost his sanity, reflecting on the inevitable cycle of collapse.
- First release year
- 2015
- Runtime (minutes)
- 119
- Production countries
- United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Ben Wheatley
- Writers
- Amy Jump · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Tom Hiddleston · Dr Robert Laing; Jeremy Irons; Sienna Miller; Luke Evans; Elisabeth Moss
- Genres
- dystopian; psychological thriller; science fiction; satirical
- Themes
- class warfare; social isolation; gentrification; dystopia
- Tone and mood
- dark; disturbing; brutal; satirical
- Premise and plot tags
- social class; apartment building; psychological thriller
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1975 novel by J. G. Ballard
- Reception
- The film was a modest critical success but failed to meet its production costs at the box office. It received generally favorable reviews for its visuals and themes.
- Reported review scores
- The Telegraph · score: 4 out of 5 stars; IGN · score: 7.0 · scale: 10; Varsity · score: 5-star; Metacritic · score: 65 · scale: 100 · review count: 36 critics
- Awards and nominations
- Empire Award · Best British Film · 2017 · nominated
- Production trivia
- The film was based on a novel that was written in the '70s projecting itself into a near future.; The production was filmed primarily in the seaside resort town of Bangor, County Down.; The producer Jeremy Thomas had wanted to make an adaptation of the novel since the 1970s.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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