Ben Wheatley’s attack of social vertigo
Interview with Ben Wheatley
The Down Terrace director climbs to new cinematic heights in High-Rise, an adaptation of J.G. Ballard's book about class wars unfolding in a concrete tower - and we haven't even mentioned the stuff with Scorsese
By Katherine Monk
VANCOUVER – “If I had to draw something right now, I would draw a cross face. I can draw them quite well,” says film director Ben Wheatley, revealing a secret talent – and maybe, just a hint of repressed hostility. It’s hard to read his face. Half-covered in facial hair and wearing a look of unmistakable fatigue, the director of Sightseers, Down Terrace, A Field in England, the new feature High-Rise and a forthcoming Martin Scorsese-produced thriller called Free Fire looks like a prisoner who just sat down in the warden’s office: Present, honest, but not altogether enthusiastic. This is something he has to do. When you make a movie with a studio, they expect you to hit the road and talk about ...