High-Rise (film)  

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High-Rise is a 2015 British dystopian thriller drama directed by Ben Wheatley, starring Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, and Elisabeth Moss. It was produced by Jeremy Thomas through his production company Recorded Picture Company. Its screenplay was written by Amy Jump and based on the 1975 novel of the same name by British writer J.G. Ballard.

The film is set in a luxury tower block during the 1970s. Featuring a wealth of modern conveniences, the building allows its residents to become gradually uninterested in the outside world. The infrastructure begins to fail and tensions between residents become apparent, and the building soon descends into chaos.

In September 2015, the film received its world première at the Toronto International Film Festival and its European première at the 63rd San Sebastián Film Festival. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 18 March 2016 by StudioCanal.

Plot

The film opens with Dr. Robert Laing (Tom Hiddleston) living in a ravaged tower block, killing a white Siberian husky and spit roasting it.

The film flashes back to three months ago when life was more typical. The forty storey high-rise tower on the outskirts of London, built by esteemed architect Anthony Royal (Jeremy Irons), is the epitome of chic, modern living. The upper echelons of society live in the top floors, while more common families live in the lower ones. The high-rise provides its tenants with a swimming pool, gym, spa, supermarket and even a primary school. There is little reason to leave the building outside of working hours and its occupants gradually become isolated from the outside world.

Laing moves into an apartment on the 25th floor, after his sister dies. He begins a relationship with single mother Charlotte Melville (Sienna Miller) and becomes a fatherly figure to her son, Toby (Louis Suc). He also becomes friends with Richard Wilder (Luke Evans) and his heavily-pregnant wife Helen (Elisabeth Moss), who live in a low-level apartment with their children. Laing works at a school of physiology. While he is cracking open a severed head, a student named Munrow (Augustus Prew) faints. Having taken a fall, he is given brain scans as a precaution. The next day, Laing is taken to the 40th storey penthouse to meet Royal, where he finds an opulent rooftop garden and is invited to a party being thrown by Royal's snobby wife, Ann (Keeley Hawes).

The party turns out to be an 18th-century costume party and Laing's everyday suit is ridiculed by Ann and other guests, including Munrow, who also lives in the building. Laing is thrown out of the party and becomes trapped in an elevator during a power cut. Such outages are becoming common, along with water being shut off and garbage chutes becoming blocked, much to the annoyance of the lower-floor residents. During a game of squash, Royal tells Laing that these are simply the growing pains of a new building.

Laing receives Munrow's brain scans, which come back clean. However, still angry about his humiliation, the vengeful Laing tells Munrow that they may have "found something". Another power out in the high-rise leads to a night of decadent partying in the hallways and apartments. A drunken and distressed Munrow commits suicide by jumping off the 39th floor, crashing onto the bonnet of a car. Wilder finds it suspicious that no police show up to the scene and becomes intent on exposing the injustices of the high-rise.

Law and order begin to disintegrate in the building due to the failing infrastructure and increasing tensions between floors. Violence becomes commonplace, food from the supermarket becomes scarce and the building devolves into class warfare between floors. Garbage bags are piled high in the fire stairwells and there are spot-fires and graffiti through the lower floors. It is implied that Royal has been bribing authorities to ignore the chaos within the high-rise. Feeling guilty about Munrow's suicide, Laing shows signs of mental disturbance, eventually barricading himself in his apartment and settling into the chaotic atmosphere, even having sexual intercourse with Helen.

Wilder, waking up from a fight with upper-floor residents, intends to find and kill Royal, believing him to be the cause of what has happened within the high-rise. Acquiring a gun from the Royal's former housekeeper, Wilder also finds that Charlotte is Royal's aide and that Toby is Royal's illegitimate child. Breaking into Charlotte's apartment, Wilder tortures and rapes Charlotte for information on Royal. The only resident who leaves the building for work, upper-floor resident and television newsreader Cosgrove (Peter Ferdinando), is captured and killed by a gang of lower-floor residents.

Some upper-floor residents ask Laing to lobotomize Wilder, as they believe he is a dangerous agitator causing the majority of the chaos in the building. After Laing conducts a psychiatric examination, he refuses, saying that Wilder is "possibly the sanest man in the building". Laing is nearly thrown off the building to his death for this, but Royal steps in and saves him. Laing and Royal talk about the failure and arguable success of the high rise, that it is a "crucible for change" and could lead to "new developments", as well as giving the residents the opportunity to escape to a new life. The women at the top begin working on a plan to establish new management of the building, and Helen gives birth to her overdue baby. Wilder manages to make his way to the penthouse and shoots Royal dead after a scuffle. He is then killed by Royal's harem of women, as Toby looks on through his kaleidoscope.

The film ends as it began in the ravaged high-rise. Violence has abated somewhat now that many residents lie dead, as well as many of the apartments in ruin. Laing appears to have gone insane, speaking about himself and to others in the third person and talking to the building. Laing then lies down with Charlotte, reflecting that what has happened will eventually reach the second tower of the high-rise development. The film ends with Toby listening to a radio broadcast of Margaret Thatcher saying that where there is state capitalism there can never be political freedom.

Soundtrack

Sundance Chant Written by Conny Velt Published by Neue Welt Musikverlag GMBH & Co. KG A Warner / Chappell Music Company Performed by Gila Licensed courtesy of Gila

Fly United Written by John Weinzierl, Renate Knaup and Peter Leopold performed by Amon Düül II (as Amon Düül) Published and licensed courtesy of Amon Düül

Bunessan (Morning Has Broken) Traditional Arranged by Clint Mansell Performed by Clint Mansell

Spoon Written by Michael Karoli, Jaki Liebezeit, Irmin Schmidt, Holger Czukay, Kenji Suzuki Published by Messer Music Ltd c/o Bucks Music Group Ltd Performed Can (as CAN) Courtesy of Spoon Records

Sailing By Written by Ronald Binge Published by Mozart Edition (Great Britain) Ltd Performed by The Perry/Gardner Orchestra Conducted by Ronald Binge Licensed courtesy of Mozart Edition (Great Britain) Ltd

Outside My Door Written by Holger Czukay, Irmin Schmidt, Jaki Liebezeit, Michael Karoli and Malcolm Mooney Published by Messer Music Ltd c/o Bucks Music Group Ltd Performed by Can (as CAN) Courtesy of Spoon Records

SOS Written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson Published by Bocu Music Group Performed by Portishead Licensed Courtesy of Portishead

Co Co Pino Written by Gabi Delgado-Lopez (as Gabi Delgado Lopez), Robert Görl (as Robert Goerl), Chrislo Haas (as Chris Haas) and Wolfgang Spelmanns Courtesy of Wintrup Musikverlag, Detmold/Germany Performed by Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft Licensed courtesy of Mute Artists Limited

Industrial Estate Written by Mark E. Smith, Martin Bramah, Tony Friel Published by Bicycle Music Company, Inc. Performed by The Fall © 1979 Mark E. Smith licensed to Sanctuary Records Group Ltd., a BMG Chrysalis company Used with permission. All Rights reserved

SOS Written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson Published by Bocu Music Group Performed by Clint Mansell

See also

• Snowpiercer, a 2013 film with a similar plot of class war in an allegorical society

See also

• High rise