One of the best things about the science fiction of the ’70s is just how much it sought to puncture the seemingly pleasant and utopian world that the ’50s and early ’60s had promised. The post-apocalypse is one thing, but a pre-apocalyptic dystopia is even scarier. Films like Soylent Green and A Clockwork Orange are especially terrifying examples of this trend. They could be set in any year, but they were certainly born of the 1970s. This is why I’m particularly excited to see Ben Wheatley‘s High-Rise, which is set in the 1970s version of the slightly-off future “paradise.”
Based on J.G. Ballard’s 1975 book of the same name (minus a hyphen), the film stars Tom Hiddleston as a successful and handsome young doctor who takes up new residence in a massive apartment block with all the amenities you could want in modern life… to the point where nobody really has to leave anymore. A very obvious model for class disparities, the building’s higher floors are for the more well-off, while the lower floors are for the much less fortunate. But, for any class, “perfection” has its dark side, and convenience becomes a trap, even for someone who seemingly has it all together. The result: the psychological spirals we see hinted at in this new trailer, incurred by whatever looming Big Brother-type presence is in control of the high-rise itself.
High-Rise will open in the UK in March, but there’s no word yet on when a U.S. release will happen. Co-starring Sienna Miller and Jeremy Irons, the film premiered at Fantastic Fest last year and was reviewed by Scott Weinberg.
Are you looking forward to Tom Hiddleston with paint or whatever on his face? Let us know in the comments below!
—
HT: Coming Soon
Image: Studio Canal
Kyle Anderson is the Weekend Editor as well as a film and TV critic for Nerdist.com. Follow him on Twitter!
