Synopsis:
Tom Hiddleston stars as Dr. Robert Laing, the newest resident of a luxurious apartment in a high-tech skyscraper whose lofty location places him amongst society s upper class. Laing quickly settles in and meets the other tenants: Charlotte (Sienna Miller), a bohemian single mother; Wilder (Luke Evans), a charismatic documentarian who lives with his pregnant wife Helen (Elisabeth Moss); and Mr. Royal (Jeremy Irons), the building s enigmatic architect. Life seems like paradise to the solitude-seeking Laing. But, as power outages become more frequent and building flaws emerge, mainly on the lower floors, social strata begins to crumble and the building descends into a class war.
What We Thought:
I was kind of disappointed in High-Rise unfortunately. I had seen the trailer for it a lot and really like Tom Hiddleston. It took a bit too long to develop and I don’t know if it all made sense to me.
Hiddleston plays a doctor who moves into a lavish high-rise. The levels of the high-rise represent the levels of society with the poorest at the bottom and the wealthiest at the top. There are over the top parties, sex, drugs, a horse, gardens and more towards the top while families and the less appreciated stay at the bottom.
Of course the building starts having issues and revolts and uprisings occur. I was thinking there was going to be some reason for it all, some big twist, but unless I missed it, there really isn’t anything crazy like I expected.
The film is a metaphor for society and I get that, but I honestly expected some supernatural element or something like that to it. I guess I was expecting a Snowpiercer type film. It starts off showing carnage so I expected some crazy violence and rioting.
The first hour is pretty much basic life in the tower. People live there, work there, eat there, swim, etc. We see them interacting, partying, having sex. That’s about the first hour. The second half starts the downfall, but there’s no real violence like Chris Evans did on a train. And not really a big “surprise” either.
The Blu-ray does look fantastic though. The cinematography, costuming, set design and production value are high-end and look perfect in HD. Audio has easy to hear dialogue and score. The Blu-ray also has some solid bonus features.
Fans of Tom Hiddleston should watch High-Rise, he’s good in it. The movie is just way too slow and uneventful to me especially the build up of the first hour. An incredible cast is wasted on a slow film. Because of all that, the film is..
DISAPPOINTING!
Bonus Features:
- Commentary with Tom Hiddleston, Director Ben Wheatley, and Producer Jeremy Thomas
- Building the World of High Rise: 70’s Style
- Heady Special Effects
- Breaking Down High Rise & its Tenants
- High Rise: Bringing Ballard to the Big Screen
- Theatrical Trailer
Cast & Crew:
- Tom Hiddleston
- Jeremy Irons
- Luke Evans
- Elisabeth Moss
- Sienna Miller
Recommended If You Like:
- The Night Manager
- Snowpiercer
- Tom Hiddleston
The Nerds Templar 