It is not surprising that the satirist J.G. Ballard’s work is misinterpreted, if only because this is the fate of most social criticism writers. The problem is the lack of context. Ballard, who died in 2009, wrote mainly about his own time, reflecting the fashions of the 1970s. All you have to do is go to the 9kmovies link and search for your favourite movies and serial anytime. Fashion, economic inequality, political upheaval, etc.
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Most obscure admirers of the satirist’s dystopian fantasies noted the socio-economic conditions of his novels’ familiar background rather than outright condemnation – and too prophetically warned against this trait. However, Ballard was not interested in critiquing the 9kmovies political details or economic inequalities because his research interest went beyond political details to analyze the real problem: technological exclusion. This is what his outstanding works of fiction Crash (1973), Concrete Island (1974), and High-Rise (1975) are about – how modern social conveniences and technological progress can aggressively change the human psyche.
How modern social services and technological advancement
Ballard wanted to explore horror with a self-fulfilling tension, except for Sexual Tension and David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Crash. (1996) – this unique perspective was often overlooked in bringing Ballard’s book from page to screen. Ben Wheatley’s latest adaptation of Ballard’s 1975 novel The Hills is decent in its plot accuracy but equally misguided and tedious in its subject matter. Instead of exploring the novel’s psychological ‘interior,’ or as Ballard puts it, ‘the inner landscape of tomorrow, the changing image of the past,’ Wheatley sticks to a more passive program of therapeutic and plutocratic demagogy.
This effect is also evident in his book of films
Wheatley, who has recently been labelled a British provocateur, seems, on paper at least, well suited to adapt Ballard’s work. Wheatley’s dark humour and terrific wit are ideal for turning the novel’s surreal satire into an enigmatic reflection on the experimental visual artist. This influence is also evident in his book of films, a catalogue of provocative and divergent plots that deliberately unsettle the unknowing viewer. These include horror-comedies Kill List (2012), Down on the Terrace (2009) and Trips (2013), brutal black comedies, and the psychedelic, acidic kaleidoscope A Field in England (2014).
The director does not even present it as a solid theory or clear vision
But Wheatley and his self-proclaimed artistic titles suppress obvious class distinctions, with the unintended result being an anti-capitalist caricature with ambiguous social symbolism. Since when should this art form go to the depths of the sunken tropics? However one accepts this apparent Randyan nightmare of unbridled hedonism and plutocratic control (a criticism that the director does not even present as a solid theory or clear insight), the film ultimately seems dead in its incessant monotony.
The divided soul solves the problem of modern madness
The repetition of rigour, the presentation of simple themes, and the slow pace destroy the message of High-Rise and make the whole experience incomprehensible. The screenplay was written by Amy Jump (Kill List, The English Camps) and told the story of the unusually calm physiologist Dr Robert Laing (Tom Hiddleston), whose name is associated with the scandalous Scottish psychiatrist R. D. Laing, whose seminal work The Divided Self addresses the problem of modern madness. Haunted by the memory of his recently deceased sister, Laing moves into the eponymous complex, a brutalist concrete apartment block with all the comforts and necessities of modern, soulless city life.
Sometimes even killing dogs
The middle floors, where Laing lives apathetically, and the ruthlessly oppressed rich class (mob bosses, businessmen, TV stars) on the upper floors, where the building’s architect, Anthony Royal, lives. Ballard ominously described the organic structure of the classes: the closed system of “pure capitalism” had, according to Wheatley, clearly begun to break down: frequent power cuts, spoiled food, violent outbursts of materialistic ownership, sometimes even the murder of dogs.
Nor are they ready to see the destruction coming
The symbolism is so subtle that it could be consider a parody aristocratic oppressors entertain themselves in glamorous disguises while the lower classes fight, beat and kill each other for a common refuge. Laing passes through this chaos with indifference – an indifference that surely says a lot about our selfish minds, which are neither prepared to see the impending disaster around 9kmovies us nor willing to change a corrupt system. Some may find this outdated revolutionary mindset, underpinned by class warfare, admirable, but this is a rather simple approach.
The film manages to entertain as well as inform
It reminds me of Bong Joon-ho’s film Snowpiercer (2013), which is equally dull. Its analysis, although it delivers it much better and with very funny character scenes. High-Rise does not focus on characters at all but conveys. Its message through a continuous visual montage draws us into the hectic chaos of the novel. Whitley makes the film a passive experience that never draws us into the horror spectacle. However, the real problem with the film is that it focuses on social inequalities as the main indictment of civilization. Mainly because Wheatley fails to get to the heart of Ballard’s novel. Namely how technology, regardless of social status, can derail, transform or shape human nature.
The dystopian fantasy of Ballard’s nightmares has been brought
Wheatley fails to justify visual experimentation and fragmented narrative as an artistic contribution for the first time in his career. Despite this misunderstanding of the subject. Wheatley and his creative team strive to show the visual precision of Ballard’s novel at its best. A colourful 9kmovies palette and inventive illustrations. Mark Tildesley’s (28 Days Later, Sunshine) retro-futuristic interiors and Laurie Rose’s (Kill List, A Field in England). Brilliant surrealist cinematography organically create. The fantastic setting of Ballard’s novel – decadent orgies, drug addiction, primitive violence, and corrosive swearing. All set against a backdrop of aimless mayhem and decadent struggle.
Powerful message and shock value of the film
From Hiddleston’s introverted indifference to Luke Evans’s dark anarchism, the actors also bring personality to this otherwise empty film. Unfortunately, this finely 9kmovies honed reality gets trappe in a complete cliché narrative of events. Which is never based on real or coordinated decision making. But ends in constant chaos and tribal discussions about coincidences. The powerful message of the film and the shock value of its visual brutality are undermine by the ending. Early in the film, we see a glimpse of the future as Laing roasts a dog at stake – cruelty. Surpassed only by cutting flesh from a human skull.
Political details cannot go beyond the cultural moments of the past
Once the shock passes and Hobbes’ situation becomes predictable. The sci-fi beauty of High-Rise takes a back seat. Overshadowed by the dead monotony of the film and the rejection of the more impressive psychological ‘niceties’ of Ballard’s novel. All this, of course, is the 9kmovies result of an attempt to. Turn a work of the past into a prophetic warning for the present. Which may be entirely wrong. Political details may not carry over from past cultural moments. But general themes can, and ignoring Ballard’s intentions will ultimately lead to misleading attempts.
Unrealistic avoidance of most film productions
The allegedly unjust caste system and plutocratic governance have become the bane of the modern political age. It is a disgusting tactic based on oversimplification. The 9kmovies constant movement of classes is an unknown element in analysis and a catchphrase that has become. The unoriginal refrain of most film productions.
