Although the plot doesn't get you anywhere, I really enjoyed it, since I think it doesn't try to. I understood it more as an "atmospheric" work than a clear story, in which you're supposed to madden in frustration along with the characters because of the situation in the building, and all the subplots that are hinted at you.
Particularly, I cannot get enough of the writing/directing/editing duo of Ben Wheatly and Amy Jump... Fuck! they work with some trippy concepts.
While I liked it, it's tempting to call this an "interesting failure". It's wildly ambitious and creative, but the lack of direction (storywise) or focus holds it back. Despite massive potential it never quite amounts to what it should, leaving a nagging feel of frustration. Still, the superb filmmaking carries it through, and there's some interesting commentary in there. The main thing I took away from it, though, is excitement for Wheatley's future. Man is talented.
The failings of the adaptation is similar to that of the source material. Once the story goes off the rails, it merely plateaus before the rather flat finish. There is so much potential here that either can more fleshed out or simply made shorter by about twenty minutes.
Very good and I liked the plot having already read the other points before I saw it. There was much advertising in London on billboards at tube stations upon release 7/10
Ben Wheatley's High-Rise sets J.G. Ballard's novel in the 1970s, when it was written, and is a pretty faithful adaptation, though certainly more elliptical. Tom Hiddleston plays a brain surgeon who has just moved into a building designed by its architect to be a social experiment. The whole thing is a metaphor for the fall of the Monarchy and the rise of Democracy, though the latter isn't exactly given a clean bill of health. Watch for the Che Guevara poster, because that's just about when the Revolution erupts and the film starts to get rather chaotic. As with most of Ballard's work, things get apocalyptic, and it's no use trying to think of the film in terms of any kind of realism past that point. The building is self-sufficient and no one leaves and that's because you can't opt out of society, even when it's in turmoil. The kind of bleak comedy that can be better decoded over several viewings, but that doesn't make you feel any urgency to see it again for lack of narrative focus.
In great movies (or tv shows like Black Mirror) there are little things that seem unimportant at first but ultimately turn the movie into a masterpiece at the end. Maybe I'm too stupid to understand the brilliance of this movie. I thought the little things like the immoral behaviors or that guy stealing lipstick would lead up to something interesting but I was sadly mistaken. Almost every person is either a cunt or a dick. I was enjoying the movie but it's missing something vital that's kinda pissing me off. Why the f**k is the entire building descending into chaos?! I don't understand this f**kin movie at all.
While there are a few redeeming features (I like the idea of the skyscraper, the mini-society within the society, the alienation, and the dark-ish versions of ABBA's S.O.S) this film is boring and pointless. I was hoping for some of the characters -if not all - to turn into zombies so that I could at least have a laugh. Tom Hiddleston's null acting skills only make it worse. For his part, a seemingly ageless Jeremy Irons tries as hard as he can, although he has very little screen time and cannot make up for all the mess.
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Comments 1 - 13 of 13
MoutardedShroom
Although the plot doesn't get you anywhere, I really enjoyed it, since I think it doesn't try to. I understood it more as an "atmospheric" work than a clear story, in which you're supposed to madden in frustration along with the characters because of the situation in the building, and all the subplots that are hinted at you.Particularly, I cannot get enough of the writing/directing/editing duo of Ben Wheatly and Amy Jump... Fuck! they work with some trippy concepts.
flaiky
While I liked it, it's tempting to call this an "interesting failure". It's wildly ambitious and creative, but the lack of direction (storywise) or focus holds it back. Despite massive potential it never quite amounts to what it should, leaving a nagging feel of frustration. Still, the superb filmmaking carries it through, and there's some interesting commentary in there. The main thing I took away from it, though, is excitement for Wheatley's future. Man is talented.fonz
The failings of the adaptation is similar to that of the source material. Once the story goes off the rails, it merely plateaus before the rather flat finish. There is so much potential here that either can more fleshed out or simply made shorter by about twenty minutes.filmistruth
High-Rise, aka The Empty Bottle of Wine Floating Atop The Unoccupied Swimming Pool.Just like the occupants of the high-rise, the story quickly becomes lost within the misguided potential of its own structure.
"Mud. Jam. Failure."
filmspaz
bizarreboulderman
Very good and I liked the plot having already read the other points before I saw it. There was much advertising in London on billboards at tube stations upon release 7/10Siskoid
Ben Wheatley's High-Rise sets J.G. Ballard's novel in the 1970s, when it was written, and is a pretty faithful adaptation, though certainly more elliptical. Tom Hiddleston plays a brain surgeon who has just moved into a building designed by its architect to be a social experiment. The whole thing is a metaphor for the fall of the Monarchy and the rise of Democracy, though the latter isn't exactly given a clean bill of health. Watch for the Che Guevara poster, because that's just about when the Revolution erupts and the film starts to get rather chaotic. As with most of Ballard's work, things get apocalyptic, and it's no use trying to think of the film in terms of any kind of realism past that point. The building is self-sufficient and no one leaves and that's because you can't opt out of society, even when it's in turmoil. The kind of bleak comedy that can be better decoded over several viewings, but that doesn't make you feel any urgency to see it again for lack of narrative focus.Medulla Oblongata
magnificent mind bending art of workThe_Comatorium
Whacked out nonsense but also can be very entertaining. Plus, Sienna Miller.affie
In great movies (or tv shows like Black Mirror) there are little things that seem unimportant at first but ultimately turn the movie into a masterpiece at the end. Maybe I'm too stupid to understand the brilliance of this movie. I thought the little things like the immoral behaviors or that guy stealing lipstick would lead up to something interesting but I was sadly mistaken. Almost every person is either a cunt or a dick. I was enjoying the movie but it's missing something vital that's kinda pissing me off. Why the f**k is the entire building descending into chaos?! I don't understand this f**kin movie at all.chaybee1
Not Bizarre. Boring. and I am a Wheatley fan.jm_london
While there are a few redeeming features (I like the idea of the skyscraper, the mini-society within the society, the alienation, and the dark-ish versions of ABBA's S.O.S) this film is boring and pointless. I was hoping for some of the characters -if not all - to turn into zombies so that I could at least have a laugh. Tom Hiddleston's null acting skills only make it worse. For his part, a seemingly ageless Jeremy Irons tries as hard as he can, although he has very little screen time and cannot make up for all the mess.Adamov10
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