High-Rise

High-Rise

Year: 2016

Runtime: 119 min

Language: English

Director: Ben Wheatley

ActionSci-FiDramaThriller

As Dr. Robert Laing embraces a life of luxury in a modern high-rise, unsettling events begin to disrupt the building's utopian facade. Recurring power outages and structural flaws trigger social unrest and a growing class conflict among the diverse residents. A charismatic documentarian, a bohemian single mother, and the building's enigmatic architect become entangled in the escalating chaos. As the structure descends into primal anarchy, the tenants are forced to confront their darkest impulses in a desperate fight for survival.

High-Rise (2016) – Spoiler-Free Movie Summary & Plot Overview

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In a sleek, glass‑clad tower that rises on the outskirts of London, modern luxury promises a utopian lifestyle while hidden flaws fester beneath the surface. The building houses a self‑contained world of swimming pools, gyms, a supermarket and even a school, yet its very design separates residents by floor, creating an ever‑present tension between the affluent upper levels and the more cramped, isolated lower levels. This setting pulses with a quiet unease, as routine power cuts and structural quirks begin to disturb the carefully curated façade of comfort.

Dr. Robert Laing, a physician drawn to the tower after a personal loss, finds himself navigating this stratified community. He forms a tentative bond with Charlotte Melville, a single mother whose presence adds a touch of resilience and humanity to the building’s otherwise sterile atmosphere. Their interactions hint at deeper questions about belonging and responsibility amid an environment that seems to oscillate between indulgence and decay. Alongside them, Richard Wilder, a charismatic documentarian, arrives with a camera and a curiosity for the tower’s inner workings, his perspective offering a lens through which the rising social unrest can be observed. Overseeing the entire experiment is Anthony Royal, the enigmatic architect whose vision for the high‑rise teeters between avant‑garde ambition and unsettling control.

The film unfolds with a tone that blends clinical precision and primal dread, using the tower’s sleek interiors as a backdrop for a slowly intensifying class conflict. As amenities falter and the building’s hidden imperfections emerge, the residents are forced to confront the thin line between civility and animal instinct. The narrative asks whether the promise of a perfect, self‑contained society can survive the inevitable cracks that appear when human desires and fears collide within its walls.

Last Updated: October 05, 2025 at 16:55

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