GFF 2016 - John McPhail Review 2 - High Rise
John McPhail / Where Do We Go From Here at GFF
Hey hey y'all, John here so lets chat "High-rise"
So on thursday night i spoiled my First A/D by taking him to see the Scottish premiere of Ben Wheatley's "High Rise" (i know I'm too kind). First off, I'm going to say I'm a fan of the bold Ben, so when i saw this was coming to the Glasgow Film festival i wanted to make sure i got tickets, and apparently so did everybody else. "High Rise" was one of GFF's most popular ticket sales on the release day and no wonder Ben Wheatley has constantly been making some wonderful, thought provoking, and beautiful cinema. I had see the newest poster just before going in to see the film and couldn't help but think of "A Clock Work Orange", one of my all time favourite films and books, i knew this was based on a book and it made me that little bit more excited. As you would expect the cinema was PACKED from back to front, and in usual GFT1 style there was a real buzz about the room. The first time a saw Ben Wheatley in the flesh was on Thursday night, its pretty cool getting to see someone you admire so much taking the time to come up and tell us about the film, and what a film. (again i will try to do this without any Spoilers). When ben introduced the film he said "We tried to pack this film with what makes good cinema, Violence, murder, sex, dancing, animal mutilation Oh and ABBA" I think the audience from that moment knew we where in for a treat. I can totally see why this isn't everyones cup of tea, its bizarre, its mental and just sheer madness. I was supposed to take the finance to see the film I'm totally glad i didn't as she would have hated it, and thats nothing against the film this just would not have went down well with her. My 1st A/D on the other hand had a ball, like me he loved it from start to finish. Dr. Robert Laing (Tom Hiddleston) moves into a new block of flats that has everything, Gym, pool, shopping centre, even a horse on the roof. First thing i thought when i saw the block was "DREAD" but i suppose any block of flats now screams "Dread" to me, but I think with one of the characters deaths there was a little nod to Dread. Dr Laing seems to be stuck in the middle of a class war between the upper floors headed up by the architect of the building (Jeremy irons), and representing the lower levels is documentarian Wilder (Luke Evans) The film opens with a breaded Dr. Robert Laing in a bloody shirt and then flash back to the previous 3 months. The film is beautifully shot, cinematographer Laurie Rose has done a cracking job and I know Ben likes a montage (who doesn't?) there are one or two really stand out montages. since watching the film I've read a few negative reviews about the montage in the middle, which i don't agree with, as a film maker trying to tell a story in under two hours that was once a book, you gotta give some breathing room, and by the way its a cracking montage. The performances are wonderful, one of the most awesome things about this film is the mad characters, their over enthusiasm for out partying each other and how their minds work is simply delightful to watch. There wasn't anyone who felt like they didnt belong to the craziness world that Amy Jump and Wheatley have created. Although i wouldn't take my Mrs to see this film and l would take my film buff mates. This film isn't for the main stream audiences, and maybe part of the reason its only scored a 6.5 on IMDB (which is no representation of the film really). The film will hit Cinemas in March this year and i give it a big thumbs up, if you love madness, in your movies then this is for you. Bellow in the comments I've attached a link to Ben's Q&A after the films screening and i would HIGHLY recommend you have a watch. One thing i love about festivals is having the opportunity to hear what the director has to say, and What ben has to say is 100% worth a listen. I'm off to see "Aliens: the directors cut" in the Imax tonight, and since its part of the Festival, I'm going to let you know how it is later... x
