High Rise Review

May 16, 2016

W.B. Preston

“Power Failure”

High Rise is a labyrinth. Although adapted from a novel of the same name, it fits right in with director Ben Wheatley’s oeuvre. A methodical, blacksmith of a director. He doesn't so much as present a theme, as he breaks it apart and show you its guts. This story is ripe for that technique, and his skill set. I use the word story lightly, as this is not really about the story per se. It’s more an artistic representation of society and the many forms that civilization has assumed, and the singular form of its final form. Annihilation.

There is Kubrickian imagery littered throughout the film, accompanied by similar musical arrangements and allusions to the films of that master, but these are mere moments, and fleeting and irrelevant at the end of the day. This isn’t about paying homage, or lining up behind the greats of the past. This is an auteur stepping out onto new grounds, with the knowledge that the old ground is behind. Kubrick was supremely concerned with the narrative, and how that narrative could be best communicated and effectively delivered through imagery. Here, Wheatley is less concerned about the narrative and more concerned about whether or not the feeling of decadence and decay ripple through the mind of the audience. Can he make you feel?

Make no mistake, the cinematography is gorgeous, paintings drip from the screen in slow motion, as we follow these people up and down the building. The shadows don’t represent corruption, because the corrupt walk in the light. The shadows are for the meek and the frightened to hide and hope that the monsters do not find them. Society is the monster here. Not greed, or survival, or money, or ambition. Hell is other people, and this film exemplifies that to the fullest. What is motivating these characters is not any of those things, though on the surface it would appear so, even in their minds. No what motivates the monstrous acts these villains perpetrate is the fact that they are in proximity with one another, and have the capacity to do so. As the colorful palate cascades down the building, illuminating the faces and the indecent deeds enacted by these animals, it’s clear that at any point, any of these people may choose to leave. In that way, mirroring society, even as it beats on the weak and the poor, and fails to satiate the unending appetite of the rich and powerful, not many choose to leave the cesspool. We crave the comfort of demise. Perhaps we too could dance in the delirium of power. A dance we all make daily, but refuse to see.

There are no heroes here. Except the dogs and the children. Every adult is a villain. The only protagonist is the future where perhaps these kids can create a society that strays as far away from what their parents have created as possible. I was struck while I wondered who’s perspective is the camera from? It isn’t a protagonist. At times the audience is the perspective, not unlike a video game, but this is not the prevailing lens through which the film is told. It isn’t God watching these people, for surely this is a Godless place. We see one child, whom represents a kind of knowing innocents, he sees all the deeds of the adults, and silently judges them. But it is not from his perspective the film through which the film is told. No, upon final reflection the answer is quite obvious. A quasi Nietzschean philosophy pervades the film, where the supermen have glutted themselves to the point of self-destruction. What else is there to indulge in after you’ve devoured the world? Of course the perspective is from the overriding and overwhelming presence of no one.

No one is watching the madness, and it makes the proceedings all the more frightening. At one point a character asks, if a man can fall from the 39th floor without sirens or cops or an investigation, what is going on here? Nothing. As the madness unfolds and the building residents rip themselves apart, no one comes to stop them. No one comes to save the women and children. Towards the end the women must take control themselves, as the men have fallen from all reasonable bounds of sanity. Not even they can save this hellscape. All they can do is provide a barrier between themselves, the children and the vicious marauding packs of wild men that stalk the halls.

As we see where the main character lands after his downward spiral. We understand that this was not a descent into madness. He was insane the entire time. This upper middle class doctor was never stable, was never at ease. He’s just a man trying to deal with society, in any incarnation that may be. If it means eating dog, then so be it. The everyman that we are presented with, is a manic depressive, married, adulterer, and a murdering rapist. He is the representative of the middle class. In the end we are left with the image of a child, who has created a fantasy world of his own to no doubt block out the insanity swirling around him, with a quote from Madeleine Albright about capitalism being the only economic system. The future is in the hands of the children, as usual, but what will the children be taught, and what kind of clay will they use to mold that future? If it’s the clay left to them by their parents, they’ll have quite a bit of molding to do.

Captain America Civil War Review

I fully intended the first review to be the Blade Runner final cut, as I finally got around to watching the gorgeous blu-ray version, sans voice over. But alas, it will have to wait, for this week brought us a miracle of cinema. The best comic book movie yet made, Captain America: Civil War. Perhaps it is not the best film made from a comic book property,(see The Dark Knight) nor the most interesting film made from a comic book property,(see Batman Vs. Superman) but it is the purest example of a comic book put to film. This film embodies what it feels like to actually read a comic book, better than any film prior. The Russo brothers are to be commended for accomplishing such a feat. It is indeed, no easy task, as countless others have tried, including themselves, and countless others have failed. Although perhaps all others who have braved these particular waters prior were stymied by loftier goals.

Nevertheless, what I witnessed in that theater was breathtaking, exciting, heartfelt and hilarious. Nothing feels out of place, nothing feels at odds with the promise of the film, and of the pulp comics whose pages these heroes have been ripped from. From the opening action sequence, to the second and final stinger at the end with the words, Spider-Man will return following the scene, this movie knows exactly what it is, and who it is playing for. Though it feels familiar to every fan who grew up flipping the pages of a Cap comic, its success and broader appeal is owed to its accessibility to a broader audience.

This is a fun film. It is meant to be a good time for as many people as possible. That is a difficult prospect, when saddled with the hurdle of  some 10 heroes, and a complex and twisting plot, weaving in new characters, bouncing from origin story to origin story, laying the foundation for the next phase of Marvel films, alluding to past Marvel films, dropping in a few easter eggs for hardcore fans, and giving proper screentime to each character, providing each a satisfying and believable arc, including a villain who ties up the third act with a nice colorful bow. This film is stuffed. But stuffed in a good way. Like a kid after Christmas dinner and dessert, and a stocking full of candy, arms full of toys. It’s too much of a good thing, and that’s a good thing.

There is no less than 10 action beats that I for one have never seen in any film, digitally enhanced or not, and being this is my first review for the site, you’ll have to take my word for it that I’ve seen quite a few action beats. All this is not to say the film is perfect, but in a world where this film can exist right alongside something more ambitious in terms of narrative choices like Batman vs. Superman, what does perfect even mean? Perfect for whom? Do some of the older Avengers get short shrift due to extra attention paid to the newer additions? Absolutely. Does the film suffer for it? I’d argue not. Is this truly a Captain America film? It certainly begins with Iron Man, but many films begin with the antagonist, even a pseudo-antagonist like Tony Stark.

Somehow the film juggles a timely plot about the powers that a unilateral organization like the Avengers, or America, with the ability to wipe out any enemy, perceived or otherwise, without oversight from anyone, anywhere. Should an organization or an organism exercise this power just because it can? That seems to be Captain’s position. Or should that organization give up some of this power in order to limit the civilian casualties, the collateral damage in the fog of war, in order to police the world in a safer more transparent way? That’s Iron Man’s position. The villain is a terrorist, the personification of blowback from an Avenger mission that killed innocent people, including children. How many hospitals have been destroyed by American missiles containing Doctors without borders in the past year?

This is how villains are created, how terrorists are created, it’s not always a power hungry madman that needs to be stopped, sometimes it’s just a grieving father and husband with the heart for revenge. And is he not right? Should there be no justice for his dead family. A family killed at the very least because of the actions of the Avengers? Cap says some innocents have to die so that many more may live. These are some of the messy politics that the film plays with, that are believable and timely while also a backdrop to amazing action and beautiful choreography and cinematography. It is a candy colored feat to behold when the avengers meet up for a sparring session in an airport. An action set piece that is worth the price of admission alone, and serves as an all time moment in the history of the field.

Even the relationships have begun to twist and turn on each other, as the Winter Soldier’s actions while under Hydra’s spell becomes a plot turn that further antagonizes Tony Stark and complicates the relationship between he and Cap. The climax of the film is set up to be yet another big action showdown, but is only a red herring as the true climax, refreshingly, is an emotional climax, backed up by an awesome fight sequence, but the core of the resolution is an emotional core. A resolution that ends with Black Panther hugging our terrorist villain to keep him from killing himself. Finally a marvel film gets the third act right. 13th time’s the charm.