Review #1,237: 'Free Fire' (2016)

The decade following the release of Quentin Tarantino's two-punch of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction saw many independent filmmakers clamouring to try and recreate the magic of those crime movies, which catapulted the one-time video store clerk to directorial super stardom. Stripped of his ear for witty dialogue and everything else that made them stand out, most of these imitations simply consisted of bad men pointing guns at each other whilst talking pop culture. This craze has since died down, but based on Ben Wheatley's latest venture Free Fire, there are those still longing to recreate the magic of those 90's classics. Free Fire is the cinematic equivalent of pillaging your toy box as a child and have the most colourful figures shoot it out with one another for the flimsiest of reasons. However, this isn't entirely a bad thing.

In 1970's Boston, a bunch of mean-looking men and one woman meet at an abandoned warehouse to finalise an arms deal. IRA members Chris (Cillian Murphy) and Frank (Wheatley regular Michael Smiley) meet with intermediary Justine (Brie Larson), and eventually with charming connect Ord (Armie Hammer looking very comfortable rocking a 70's beard). Arms dealer Vernon (Sharlto Copley) has some bad news in that he doesn't have the guns ordered, but the Irishmen push ahead for the deal anyway. A rocky introduction seems to be heading towards peaceful resolution, until Vernon's associate Harry (a hairy and bespectacled Jack Reynor) recognises junkie Stevo (Sam Riley) - one of Chris and Frank's gang - from a violent confrontation the night before. Negotiations quickly escalate into a stand-off between both parties, and a huge shoot-out ensues. With a briefcase full of money and a truck load of guns there for the taking, everyone's motivation and loyalty is quickly under scrutiny.

After tackling the lofty concept of socioeconomic commentary in messy misfire High Rise, Wheatley has fallen back on a simplistic and indulgent crowd-pleaser. With many an object to hide behind in the expansive warehouse setting, the witty dialogue of the opening thirty minutes becomes a cycle of leg-and-shoulder wounds and ricocheting bullets. It's a rather childish concept, but it manages to entertain by refusing to take itself seriously. Fracturing loyalties and double-crosses play second fiddle to guessing who will die next and just how they will meet their doom, backed by an impressive line-up of character actors. Outside of a couple of gruesome deaths, the script by Wheatley and long-time writing partner Amy Jump offers few surprises. Perhaps the couple needed to recuperate after their ambitious but ultimately disappointing attempt to bring High-Rise to the big screen. Whatever the reasoning for tackling a project so knowingly lacking in scale and originality, I enjoyed it, and hopefully now it's out of their system they will be capable of delivering a film as masterful as their jewel in the crown, Kill List.


Directed by: Ben Wheatley
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Brie Larson, Sharlto Copley, Armie Hammer, Michael Smiley, Sam Riley, Jack Reynor, Babou Ceesay, Noah Taylor
Country: UK/France

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,071: 'High-Rise' (2015)

J.G. Ballard's 1975 novel High-Rise in one in a long line of so-called 'unfilmable' works of literature, with British producer Jeremy Thomas having tried to get a project off the ground since the 70's with Nicholas Roeg originally attached to direct. The book's darkly humorous tale of social economics and bloody violence was deemed unfit for the big screen, that is until director Ben Wheatley stepped in to take the reign with his most ambitious film yet. I've enjoyed all of Wheatley's films, especially Kill List (2011), but the sense of claustrophobia and unease that was so prevalent in his earlier works goes missing in High-Rise, which quickly descends into incoherent anarchy.

The handsome and lonely Dr. Robert Laing (Tom Hiddleston) moves into a forty-story high-rise in the outskirts of London. Created by architect Anthony Royal (Jeremy Irons), the building is an innovative experiment in ultra-modern living. Complete with its own supermarket, spa, swimming pool and school, there's even little reason to go outside other than to earn money to support the lavish lifestyle. Living in the middle of the building, Laing quickly starts a relationship with single mother Charlotte (Sienna Miller), and makes friends with unhinged documentary film-maker Richard Wilder (Luke Evans) and his heavily-pregnant wife Helen (Elisabeth Moss). Soon enough, niceties are put aside as tensions mount between the different personalities and classes, and the corridors and elevators become blood-baths as the residents tear each other apart.

Firstly, High-Rise looks utterly splendid, with the 1970's setting providing a ghastly and grimy backdrop for the chaos that ensues and cinematographer Laurie Rose framing many of his shots with a steely perfection, matching the cold neatness of the film's passive yet curious protagonist. The performances are all top-notch too, with Hiddleston doing no damage whatsoever to the tiresome rumours of him replacing Daniel Craig as the next James Bond, and Evans bristles with anger and unpredictability. The film works very well for the first forty minutes or so, establishing the hierarchy within the high-rise and introducing a repulsive gallery of greasy-haired weirdos (Reece Shearsmith and Tony Way) and pampered toffs (James Purefoy and Keeley Hawes).

While at first Laing plays the role of the audience drinking in this madness, he almost becomes a supporting player from the middle-act, as Wheatley quickly loses focus and lets the chaos reign. There are too many characters squabbling over God-knows-what, and Wheatley struggles with translating the source material to establish a clear theme or message amidst all the barbarity on show. It shares much in common with 2013's Snowpiercer, and while Joon-ho Bong's actioner was heavily flawed, it managed to land it satirical punches far more convincingly. High-Rise seems too over-eager to bask in the violence, and gets so caught up in it that it forgets that it's also got a story to tell and characters deserving of more screen-time. I can certainly appreciate the ambition, but perhaps Wheatley wasn't ready to tell a story of such complexity.


Directed by: Ben Wheatley
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, Elisabeth Moss, James Purefoy, Keeley Hawes, Peter Ferdinando, Reece Shearsmith
Country: UK/Belgium

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,065: 'Down Terrace' (2009)

Looking at the DVD cover of Down Terrace, you would be forgiven for dismissing it as yet another geezer-filled entry into the British crime genre, directed by somebody who watched Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) growing up and fancied themselves as capable of doing the same. Yet Ben Wheatley's debut feature goes out to do exactly the opposite, and instead of motor-mouthed crims with ridiculous nicknames and heists-gone-wrong, we get a kitchen-sink drama, at least for the first two-thirds, filmed almost entirely within the constraints of a run-of-the-mill house in Brighton.

After a stint in prison, Karl (Robin Hill, who co-wrote the script with Wheatley) returns to the family home with his father Bill (Robert Hill, Robin's real-life father) to try and sniff out the rat who is threatening to bring down their criminal organisation. With the help of mother Mags (Julia Deakin), they invite various associates, including idiot club owner Garvey (Tony Way), muscle Eric (David Schaal) and hitman Pringle (Michael Smiley), to their home in an attempt to suss them out. Karl is barely able to cope with the relentless criticism dished out by his father and his family's general dysfunction, and the atmosphere is made worse with the re-appearance of Valda (Kerry Peacock), an old flame now (apparently) pregnant with Karl's child.

Channelling the work of various British film-makers, including Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and Shane Meadows, Down Terrace attempts to draw you in slowly, creating an atmosphere of unease before unleashing its bloody final act. It should be a clever subversion of the genre, and in some ways it is, but this is hampered by a measured approach and a self-awareness, similar to the problems Sightseers (2012) had. There isn't a fault to be had with the performances, especially Robert Hill as the everyman crime boss with a slight aura of buffoonery about him. It's also very funny on occasion, and one of Wheatley's real strengths as a film-maker is luring you in with laughs while never allowing you to be completely comfortable. Ultimately, it's a distinctive test of endurance with flashes of brilliance, doing wonders with a micro-budget.


Directed by: Ben Wheatley
Starring: Robin Hill, Robert Hill, Julia Deakin, David Schaal, Tony Way, Michael Smiley
Country: UK

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #641: 'A Field in England' (2013)

A Field in England, a low-budget, black-and-white journey into psychedelia from the exciting British director Ben Wheatley, marked the first time a film had been simultaneously released in cinemas, on home media, On Demand, and on free TV. Shot in an unfussy 12 days, the film's historical setting of Civil War-era England was inspired by a historical re-enactment group that were the focus of a documentary Wheatley filmed over a decade ago. Blending folklore, surrealism and black humour, A Field in England certainly doesn't break any boundaries or subvert film-making ideals, but it will certainly have people talking about it afterwards, whether they believe the film to be pretentious nonsense or the arrival of a new genius.

Fleeing from his tyrannical master Trower (Julian Barratt), alchemist Whitehead (The League of Gentleman's Reece Shearsmith) ends up in a large field where he meets three wandering soldiers Cutler (Ryan Pope), Jacob (Peter Ferdinando) and Friend (Richard Glover). Whitehead is out on an errand to locate and capture the mysterious O'Neil (Michael Smiley), a dangerous man who appears to be learned in magic. When they come across O'Neil, the group are forced to look for buried treasure in the field, where madness and mushrooms ensue.

I won't even try and explain any meaning behind the film, if they are indeed any at all. There are many moments of surreality, such as the group being dragged against their will by a large rope or the black sun that keeps appearing to Whitehead. But surrealism isn't supposed to make sense - that's why it's called surrealism. It is supposed to open your mind and let you take away from it whatever you brain tells you to, and I left A Field in England feeling baffled but undeniably wowed. Wheatley has a knack for creating an atmosphere, be it the ever-present feeling of dread in Kill List (2011) or the depressing familiarity of Sightseers (2012) - here it's the sense of horror that seems be looming over these unfortunate characters. The most unnerving moment occurs when Whitehead emerges from O'Neil's tent, after being tortured, with a rope around him like a lead and a demented smile across his face.

Like I mentioned earlier, there are many that will leave this film calling it pretentious nonsense, and they would be half right. Sometimes the film gets completely swept up in its own idiosyncrasies. The rapid editing of Whitehead's mushroom trip contains some astonishing images, but goes on for so long that I couldn't help picturing Wheatley in his editing room asking "what does this button do?". But for all its problems, A Field for England is a nice little experiment within an all too unfamiliar setting that evokes in period and style Michael Reeves' excellent Witchfinder General (1968). The British film industry needs a director that has the ability to split an audience or has the audacity to fuck with them, and Wheatley is a breath of fresh air, and quite possibly the man that convinces this government to start injecting funds back into this crumbling institution.


Directed by: Ben Wheatley
Starring: Reece Shearsmith, Michael Smiley, Peter Ferdinando, Richard Glover, Ryan Pope, Julian Barratt
Country: UK

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #605: 'Sightseers' (2012)

Many of my fondest childhood experiences are from my holidays and days out to the more scenic side of Britain; those small, rural villages and towns that seem to have the one (rather dull, looking back on it) tourist attraction. Sightseers spends its time around these places, with its lead character Chris (Steve Oram), a caravan enthusiast, a frequenter of such oddities as the Pencil Museum, the National Tramway Museum, and Mother Shipton's Cave. The film, directed by British up-and-comer Ben Wheatley (director of one of 2011's best films, Kill List), explores the hidden, underlying eeriness of these places, with their serenity a mask for small-town hokum and empty tedium. It's a little bit like The League of Gentleman, which poked fun at isolated yokels to create something really rather sinister amongst the hilarity. Only Sightseers is much crueller, gruesome and certainly less funny.

Tina (Alice Lowe), is a rather strange woman who lives with her mother Carol (Eileen Davies). Their relationship is strained due to the accidental death of their dog, who died in ridiculous circumstances. Her new boyfriend Chris, a ginger-faced eccentric, is taking her off in his caravan for a holiday around the Black Country, where they will see the sights and tourists hotspots, as well as getting in as much sex as possible. At the National Tramway Museum, Chris becomes increasingly angry at a careless visitor that keeps dropping litter wherever he goes, regardless of Chris's pleading. The man is 'accidentally' crushed beneath the wheel of Chris's caravan, which inadvertently awakens something inside of the previously meek Tina. The further their holiday goes on, the more corpses pile up, until Tina's unquenchable thirst for murder becomes a bit too much for the more casual serial killing Chris.

In the same vein as Kill List, Sightseers manages to mix sensational and outrageous fantasy with realistic, familiar environments. While Kill List turned suburbia into a skull-crushing hell-on-Earth, Sightseers explores the almost paganistic, lush yet wet countryside of the Lake District, and turns it into something more haunting and unsettling. Tina and Chris (played with alarming naturalism by scriptwriters Lowe and Oram) are strange creatures, both seemingly undeterred and almost inspired by their simplicity. Chris takes absolute delight in bludgeoning his victims, like a victim paying back a bully, righting all the little things that piss him off - people being loud in a restaurant, middle-class attitudes, simple rudeness. But he's also a very bitter character, angered by a man he meets in the caravan park that has a nicer caravan and is a successful writer. Chris has taken a 'sabbatical' to focus on his writing, only he's not a writer, he's a serial killer.

Tina is something else entirely, and is one of the film's saving graces. Both timid and naive, yet bubbling with the temperament of a spoilt little girl, she is the product of shying away from growing up in society, living with her demented mother and spending her time knitting in her bedroom that looks the same as it would have while she was growing up. The caravan trip is one almighty sexual and psychological release from her dull life, even knitting lingerie for her to wear for Chris. As the bodies pile up, she becomes increasingly out of control, becoming jealous over a fellow caravan enthusiast that Chris befriends and trying to set him up to be taken out of the picture. Lowe's performance is quite remarkable, bringing a improvisational naturalism to such a melting pot of a character.

But it's the sense of cruelty that blocks Sightseers from being the hoot it maybe should have been, peppered throughout with scenes of extreme violence, including a man's head half-squashed beneath the wheel of Chris's caravan. Yet while Kill List's violence was undeniably shocking, it served a purpose to the underlying sense of horror amidst its ugly subject matter. Here, it's not particularly clever or funny, nor does it seem to serve any big purpose, it's just nasty. Wheatley (with Lowe and Oram) seem to truly loath these characters, mocking the many stock types that appear throughout the film that serve no purpose other than to meet a gruesome end. Ultimately, Sightseers is certainly worth a look for its macabre mood, fine acting, and the locations (for those who grew up in the UK), but says nothing profound and isn't as funny as it really should be.


Directed by: Ben Wheatley
Starring: Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Eileen Davies
Country: UK

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #349: 'Kill List' (2011)

If there are two genres that the UK do excessively, and not very well (these days), it is the horror and hit-man/gangster genres. Usually flooding the straight-to-DVD market and being picked up by morons who see a promising film when they see Danny Dyer's name above the title, it would seem the British movie industry is indeed in a dire state (especially with the demise of the UK Film Council at the hands of Nick Clegg and uber-cunt prime minister David Cameron). Yet, seemingly out of nowhere, comes Kill List, director Ben Wheatley's sledgehammer second feature after 2009's Down Terrace (which I will certainly be tracking down).

After a disastrous but unspecified mission in Kiev, ex-soldier Jay (Neil Maskell) is living a strained relationship with his wife Shel (MyAnna Buring). When his partner and best friend from Kiev, Gal (Michael Smiley), comes to dinner with his new girlfriend Fiona (Emma Fryer), tensions spill over and Jay loses it, while in the bathroom, Fiona carves a strange witchcraft-like symbol on the back of the mirror. Jay and Gal eventually head out on a new mission set by their shadowy client, and are given a list of people that need killing. After the first, a priest, is killed after thanking them, it seems that they have stumbled upon a child pornography ring. The next victim has stashes of it in his locker, and Jay goes sick on him. As Jay starts a spiralling decline of rage, Gal must try and hold them together. But not all is at it seems, as they eventually come across a strange woodland sacrifice.

You may be forgiven from that synopsis in thinking that it sounds like many a British gangster/revenge flick, but it is anything but. The first half an hour focuses on the drunken dinner party, which at first, seems to be Ken Loach-inspired with a bit of Gary Oldman's Nil by Mouth (1997) thrown in, but soon it becomes more Lars von Trier than anything else. There is a growing discomfort in the proceedings, with an underlying menace simmering beneath the surface, and this prevails throughout the film. Yet as the story moves on, the menace starts to bubble over, and the film becomes almost Lynchian. There's no out-and-out weirdness of a Lynch (the film maintains a neo-realist style throughout), but there's a staggering darkness here, and bursts of screeching industrial soundtrack makes the viewing all the more uncomfortable.

You'll also need a strong stomach, as one scene provides the most shocking and sickening burst of violence I have ever seen on screen, beating even the facial disintegration of Irreversible (2001). Jay is a thug, and feels most at home when at work letting his rage spill over. I almost don't want to say any more as I feel it will ruin the experience, as the climax will alienate as many as it will inspire. For me, the juggling of genres tightly contained in one unsettling film is quite brilliant. The lead performances by Maskell and Smiley are outstanding, but the real star here is Wheatley. I can't remember the last time I've been so excited by a director. This is simply a sensational film. There is hope for the British film industry after all.


Directed by: Ben Wheatley
Starring: Neil Maskell, Michael Smiley, MyAnna Buring, Emma Fryer
Country: UK

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie