It's taken four decades for J.G. Ballard's chaos-fueled novel High-Rise to hit the big screen, and in theory
Ben Wheatley would be the perfect director to make it a reality. They both
subscribe to a certain brand of anarchy in their work, and that turns out to be
the problem. There's so much disarray between the source material and
Wheatley's direction that nothing ever comes together to form a cohesive story,
and while that may have been acceptable on Ballard's page it makes for a movie
that is mostly incomprehensible.
There are a ton of fan-favorite actors
filling up the screen and watching them interact in increasingly ghoulish ways
is enjoyable in a way. Set in an altered vision of 1970s London, the story
takes place entirely inside the titular luxury high-rise apartment where the
floors are broken down by class system. Imagine Snowpiercer set inside of a building rather
than a running train and you'll get the drift. Poor people live on the bottom
floor, middle class a few floors up, and the elite, you guessed it, rest
comfortably at the top. Tom Hiddleston is Robert Laing, a doctor living in one
of those middle floors, and his neutral position is perfect for his rather
tranquil temperament. He couldn't be more different from the wild-haired,
unpredictable Richard Wilder (a kinetic, mutton chopped Luke Evans), whose
lower class family (which includes Elisabeth Moss as his pregnant wife) is
constantly impeded on by the rich. And then at the top of the food chain
there's The Architect (Jeremy Irons), who designed the building to be a
"crucible for change", although his reasons why remain a mystery.
Much of the film remains a mystery,
though, including why an outbreak of violence destroys the fragile peace within
the building. It isn't long before any idea of rational civilization begins to
crumble. The trash begins to pile up, the electricity stops working, and soon
people are being butchered in the hallways, pets killed over swimming pool
violations, all types of weirdness. Meanwhile, Laing watches all of this with a
calm that is disturbing in itself. Although he does find time for the
occasional dalliance with the enigmatic Charlotte (Sienna Miller), who has her
own shady past.
But none of this matters because we are
kept at an infuriating distance from every single character. Detachment from
the gory proceedings may be part of the plan and to a degree that makes sense,
however it doesn't make for a very compelling narrative. Add to it that
Wheatley never makes much of a commentary on class disparity in itself. He's
too content to bask in the pandemonium to make any kind of statement, which is
unfortunate considering Ballard's story is timelier than ever. 
The level of
disorder prevents the film from gaining any perceptible momentum, and the
result is one of Wheatley's most tedious efforts. It also holds back the
actors, who are uniformly great in just about everything else, from leaving
much of an impression. None of them truly matter and probably could have been
replaced by just about anybody without it making a difference. Disappointing
from the floor up, it's hard not to look at High-Rise as anything but a missed opportunity.
Rating: 2 out of 5
