'High-Rise' : Hard to Grasp, but Highly Enticing.

The story is set in a pseudo futuristic 70's world. The building itself is very reminiscent of the tower blocks constructed in the 60's/70's which were initially welcomed, and their excellent views made them popular living places. However later, as the buildings themselves deteriorated, they grew a reputation for being undesirable low cost housing, and many tower blocks saw rising crime levels, increasing their unpopularity. Of course, the building is also a character here. It's a new building, settling into its foundations, but it's seen as a way of life for many, working and living within its walls, which is why the building is often personified in the film with examples from the architect describing the settling stages as "teething problems". Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian described it as: "a state-of-the-art residential tower block whose inhabitants succumb to a collective nervous breakdown, apparently as a result of the building itself." While the doors are always open despite the eventual chaos, it's clear that the characters are systematically trapped in the tower block and wholly dependent on it. Not only trapped inside, but to their individual floors, as their stifled economic situations won't allow them to ascend. 

The introduction to the protagonist Dr. Robert Laing was very implicative to Edgar Wright's visual story telling style, using a 'show don't tell approach'. Laing becomes instantly aware of a class conflict in his tower: poorer tenants live in cheaper flats on the floors beneath, yet because service charges are the same throughout the building, the lower orders feel disproportionately aggrieved by the electricity cutting out and garbage chute jamming up. And so the residents set out to destroy the place because they were wronged by it, instead of everything being equally shared, a natural hierarchy was bound to happen. The characters living in the tower block were illustrated by Tim Martin in his article for The Telegraph saying: "the deranged inhabitants of the tower block at the centre of the story are not the social-housing tenants of 1970s London but, as Ballard described them, “a virtually homogeneous collection of well-to-do professional people – lawyers, doctors, tax consultants, senior academics and advertising executives”." Even though the 'rich' in the tower are just as poor as the poor; they don't (apart from the architect) appear to live any better than the people on lower floors, the only difference would appear to be that they think they are privileged living higher up. This 'privilege' appears to be purely imaginary. The people on the lower floors party just as hard as the higher ups. And everyone knows everyone's business creating a weird distorted sense of community.

When researching High-Rise, the score is most definitely one of the most talked about aspects of the film, and fair dues because it is powerful. The music defines every scene; the varied uses of ABBA's S.O.S through the stringed - orchestral version in the Marie Antoinette themed party scene, to the chilling and erie cover for the mayhem sequences, the music is easily able to enhance the atmosphere.

In Tim Robey's article for The Telegraph, he wrote how: "Clint Mansell’s sultry score invites us languidly into the fun and games, but the musical highlight is an inspired slow-jam cover of ABBA’s S.O.S., by Portishead. It’s a party track for a party at the end of the world."The score is just generally brilliant being dazed and disorientating yet sensual and unsettling.

                            

As aforementioned, High-Rise bears a 70's aesthetic, which could have easily been translated into modern day due to its timeless relevance. Kermode alluded to this in his article saying: "Wheatley and Jump situate the action in the 70s fog of the source, presenting a vision of the past seen from the present, looking towards the future." With this 70's demeanor, the film has been repeatedly compared to Stanley Kubrick's work. Kermode again writing on this saying: "Through these rooms, corridors and supermarket aisles, Laurie Rose’s camera moves with Kubrickian elegance." And, it is a fair connection to make due to the film being very stylized and surreal cinematography through the use of the slow motion shots, colour scheme and the mid shots combined with low angles in order to create a personal, awkward and unnatural sense of third person perspective.

Although the performances of all the cast were undoubtedly commendable; Tom Hiddleston manages a very tricky balancing act, as the cool observer drawn deeper or higher into mayhem. His performance just oozed class and delivers a fine performance, however for me, the most impressive performance comes from Luke Evans as the mentally tortured Wilder. His character is an abusive misogynist you love to hate, who takes it upon himself to expose the class injustices that come as a way of life in the high-rise, causing a dangerous social situation to arise. He makes trouble and yet is obscurely excited by the violent disorder he helps to foment. But his determination for a more respectable quest slowly grows on you. He's got the most developed and complex contradictions of the ensemble – a fighter and an artist, and a violator and a lover. 

In essence, I don't think High-Rise is a film that was meant to be understood. The sole fact that the book has been described as "unfilmable", heightens how it is a difficult adaptation with its dizzying, disorienting, dystopian vision. It is very difficult to understand the action taking place in the film and I often found myself asking: 'Why do the characters make the choices they do?', 'What drives them to this madness?' Some may feel battered over the head by the film and many will find it enthralling and profound. While it's thematically hardly new, the incisive execution is the ideal package and an example for the best of contemporary British cinema. It's blood-soaked, alcohol-fueled and nicotine- injected mayhem that doesn't hold back. Nev Pierce wrote in his article for Empire describing High-Rise as: "Batshit crazy. Don’t expect a thriller in the seat-edge sense, but you will be thrilled — and repulsed — by this bold, faithful adaptation of Ballard’s ever-prescient picture of First World strife.

Those with an appetite for aberrant creative visions could make “High-Rise” a hot cult property, though this unruly black comedy doesn’t work on any of the levels mainstream audiences expect."

Of course, with any film as bonkers as High-Rise, comes the chance that audiences may feel alienated from the plot and characters however, if you are willing to switch your mind to escape mode, High-Rise may prove as captivating to you as it was to me. But the tone is always more playful than it is disturbing feels like a high budget cult/indie film. I would give the film a four out of five, star rating.