This is an 'enjoyable' film in its stylish delivery and as a vehicle for a collection of young English acting talent- both male and female to show us some of what they are made of- whom no doubt we shall be seeing more of on our screens. That aside the central theme of the film is rather pointless and gratuitous with an incidence of violence that borders on the absurd. May be that is the point. The stereotypical depiction of all privately educated public school boys as being 'filthy, rich, spoilt and rotten' is wearing thin and is inaccurate- a significant percentage of 'privately educated' young Brits are done so on full scholarships financed at great generosity by wealthy patrons current and past in some of the schools mentioned. Inevitably there are always a small number in any social class demographic that fall short of the standards that are expected by a broader public. That will never change. Equally the depiction of the parents of the boys in this film was a stereotypical pastiche reminiscent of a Richard Curtis script. That said there are no doubt some members (two in particular) of the current English political elite who will cringe at the depiction of antics at one of the top universities of which they are alumni and to societal activities to which they might well have been participants if all rumours are to be believed. Being that as it may, this makes the timing of release of this film rather politically sensitive potentially- and given the role of Film4 in the credits one cannot feel that this is not coincidence. Notwithstanding that there are some great performances - in the female capacity - Natalie Dormer makes a cameo appearance after her role as Anne Boleyn- (so she risks being type cast). Holliday Grainger gives a creditable performance in her character given the background. For the males- notably Max Irons, Douglas Booth, and Sam Claflin as the sociopath and repulsive 'Ryle'. That said given that this lot are probably ex public schoolboys maybe they were 'typecast' and just put in a room a told to get on with it with some Colombian marching powder and lashings of alcohol. Some of the early dialogue is entertaining and accurate as to the inter public schoolboy views on each other's establishments- if you're 'in the know'. (eg 'Harrow'?) Once the evening gets going though the absurdity sets in. It is at times as cringing to watch as it is to witness the slide into boorishness. At least the main cast are initially stylishly dressed, look good and deliver competent on screen performances. Bullingdon for them.
Review of The Riot Club
