The other night, during the 59th edition of the BFI London Film Festival we attended the much awaited premiere of High-Rise. The adaptation of J.G.Ballard’s book was directed by Ben Wheatley and, even if an indie film, had among its actors a lot of well-known names: Tom Hiddleston, Sienna Miller, Elizabeth Moss, James Purefoy and many others.
The premiere was quite an intimate one and it took place at the Odeon Leicester Square. In attendance was a great part of the cast and we’ve managed to get some insights from two key people involved with the project.
Both Wheatley and Hiddleston showed a great deal of patience when it came to dealing with the press and fans. As a general impression, I would say I found Ben Wheatley to be a very relaxed and open person. He had fun with the project and that could have been seen on his face when we talked about the film. Tom Hiddleston is probably one of the most dapper men I’ve seen. I was probably one of the few people in the room not amazed by his height, there are only a few centimetres between us, but his attitude and the way he interacts with everyone around him certainly impresses. Hope you will enjoy their answers as much as I did when putting them in writing.
BEN WHEATLEY
So why this book?
B.W.: It’s a book I’ve read as a teenager and it’s always been in the back of my mind. And then, one day, I thought “Well, it is on my shelf and it’s not been made into a movie. Why is that?” So yes, I did a bit of pocking around with it and put it into production.
How do you think the theme of the film represents today’s society?
B.W.: I think we are living some strange times, at least financially. In the 90s we were all making lots of money. So at the moment, I think we are a bit like the 70s, but with a different music. I also think that it looks more and more like he wrote the book last week.
Do you think the people who know it’s an adaptation and have read the book will come to see the film as well?
B.W.: There’s always pressure when you make something and show it to people. It will receive criticism from some people because it’s too much like the book. On the other hand, others will say it’s too different to the book. You can’t think about it like that. You just have to make it and see what happens.
There’s quite a lot of chaos in it. How was that managed behind the camera?
B.W.: It was quite controlled, it has to be because in the end it’s made up. It’s not a massive budget movie so there has to be an incredible amount of control and design to that stuff. Some things were challenging to film and it did take a lot of planning.
Tom Hiddleston, was it hard to get him on board?
B.W.: Tom had the corner of my eye before and I knew he was around and I think he kind of knew about my films a bit. Also, he was at the top of the list of who we wanted for Laing.
How did you choose the songs for the soundtrack?
B.W.:Once you’ve got a bit of a budget, you can dip in a bit and pick some contemporary music, it’s a great thing! And I was a massive ABBA fan so that was written into the script from the very start. Also, I really wanted Portishead so we kind of went to them and asked if they would want to do a cover. A lot of lucky things happened. One after the other, it was great!
Can you tell us a bit about the aesthetics of it and how you approached it visually?
B.W.: We wanted to make a 70s film, but we didn’t want it to feel like we’ve just got a lot of design magazines and looked through and copied it. We wanted to feel like it was almost an alternate reality, so it was half 70s and half something else.
What’s up next for you?
B.W.: I’ve just closed on a film called “Free fire” which will hopefully be finished by January time.
TOM HIDDLESTON
What do you think Marvel and Loki fans will think about you after this movie?
T.H.: I don’t know. I hope that if they are fans they will enjoy this different kind of film as well. It’s a very different character and I hope they’ll enjoy what Ben brought to J.G.Ballard’s story.
How did you prepare for the role?
T.H.: You have to ask yourself what you would have done in that situation and then put yourself in the position of who this man was, as in Dr. Robert Laing in my case. And I did some work on what it takes to be a lecturer in his area of expertise in order to understand how someone can look at the human body as a machine.
The film is getting quite mixed reviews. Are you surprised by that?
T.H.: I think everyone is completely entitled to have their own response to it. I am not surprised because I believe that’s what J.G.Ballard and the book also did. After all, the very first line of the book is about the protagonist eating a dog and for some people that is a hard pill to swallow. Others might be intrigued by it so I knew it was going to be provocative. In a way I think J.G.Ballard would be proud of that.
The movie feels quite contemporary. What are the themes you think still resonate today?
T.H.: Ben and I used to talk about it as being a book written in the past and looking forward to the future and that we were making a film from the future, but looking back in the past. And it still felt like the same society. It’s there to say in a way that if push comes to shove, we would all be in the same boat.
How does this celebration of Britishness compare to the Hollywood films?
T.H.: To me it’s all cinema to be honest. I don’t like to divide things too much and I think we need all of it in order not to get bored. Variety is the spice of life. I loved making High-Rise and working with Ben Wheatley. I think he is absolutely brilliant.
High-Rise will be released in the UK on the 18th of March 2016.
This article has been done in partnership with The Fan Carpet.
