High-Rise

Director Ben Wheatley brought the original novel "High-Rise" to the big screen in 2015, with a little budget and a stellar cast. This is among his most insistently themed works, and one of the best dystopian movies of all time. Less colorful than "Crash," "High-Rise" examines the crumbling architecture of social stratification in a skyscraper where the ultra-wealthy isolate themselves from society. There is a feeling that something is amiss with the rest of the world, but because the tower can provide for all of its occupants' requirements, these concerns become irrelevant. How lofty your apartment is will reflect your social rank, and the tower is a living symbol. No one notices that the system is slowly dissolving inside.

There are elements of 'Dredd' in this intellectual and rather nonsensical picture of "High-Rise". We have a "king" with a psychic hold on the tower's inmates; the police are bribed not to intervene; the protagonist must mount the tower to reach the "king", and there is a progressive show of brutality and primitive humanity.

However, Robert Laing (played by Tom Hiddleston) does not topple the tower's architect. The tower's godhead, portrayed by Jeremy Irons, lures Laing to his side and incorporates him into the architect's vast experiment. Laing's punishment for accepting his position in the architect's domain is a canine-eating mania. It is a haunting ending, but at least, the scenery from his balcony is magnificent!

Year of Release: 2015

Stars: Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 60%