High - Rise Analysis

High-Rise

High-Rise is a film directed by Ben Wheatley, released in 2015. the film gravitates towards the science fiction and drama genres although it seems to stray away from these from time to time. many of Wheatleys films carry similar themes and tones. his films like kill list, sightseers & Down Terrace all have dark undertones, following themes of crime and death, however he clearly has a specific style as many have light humorous aspects. High- Rise is probably the anomalie of these Wheatley films as we see glimpses of the sci-fi Genre, the film is shot much more abstractly and looks like it has a much higher budget than his other films. The minimal appearance that this film takes on introduces class and professionalism however the film drastically changes throughout becoming much more of a mystery film adding in phsycological aspects as the protagonist, Dr. Robert Laing(Tom Hiddleston) begins his quest into finding out the truth behind the other characters who live in this block of flats. Throughout the film he tries to understand the meaning behind the classist rules enforced, that the level of the floor you live on represents your social status,the highest floor being the highest class.

An interesting feature in the film that intrigues me personally is the era the film is set in. although this film is an interesting take on the dystopian future, you would expect it to be set some time in the far future, post 20th century. However, the costume, set design and social&political references and aspects suggest otherwise. this is because the film is a book adaptation of the final part in a quartet of novels, The Atrocity Exhibition(1970),  Crash(1973) and Concrete Island(1974), which were all set in the 70's. The film while being clean cut and smart at the start gradually becomes much more rugged and twisted following a theme of violence, death, sex and profanity, this is a clear reflection of the social, cultural and political issues that were seen in the 70's.

The cinematographer Laurie Rose embraces the industrial and concrete world they live in by giving the audience abstract views and compositions. He plays on and explores the idea of dual worlds, split concepts and opposites like Rich and Poor and Heaven and Hell. The Mise-en-scene allows us to grasp the concept and meanings behind the film and we see a lot of symbolism throughout. we see that the owner of the tower block or 'creator' as he is referred to in the film , already comparing him to an omniscient being like god, wears white clothing symbolising purity and owns a garden within a world of grey concrete buildings, again a comparison to christianity and the garden of eden.There are many other features that develop our understandings of the meanings and ongoing themes like, social stratification.

The acclamation of this film and actors involved is clearly represented through the amount of awards the film and actors were nominated for, like for example the ALFS British film of the year and the British Independant Film Best Screenplay award.