The Riot Club (2014)
Certified: 15
Duration: 107 minutes
Directed by: Lone Scherfig
Starring: Max Irons, Sam Claflin, Douglas Booth, Holliday Grainger, Freddie Fox, Jessica Brown Findlay, Sam Reid, Ben Schnetzer, Matthew Beard, Tom Hollander, Anastasia Hille, Olly Alexander
KRS Releasing Ltd
The Riot Club is based on Laura Wade’s 2010 play Posh which in turn is supposed to have been inspired by The Bullingdon Club, an unofficial Oxford Club made up of the elite of the elite and who are quite controversial in the way they throw their parties. They are complete snobs and like to show off how rich they are.
Lone Scherfig directs a sharp and moody film that will leave its audience with a gaping mouth as they see how these young men treat the rest of the country’s citizens with complete and utter ostentatious disregard. Scherfig has already made it her cinematic-life endeavour to peer behind the reputable higher society when, with 2009’s An Education, she had delivered a powerful film that looked at how a young woman had to make her own steps in life in order to learn about life, sometimes at her own expense.
The Riot Club focuses on 10 elite students who are all extremely rich, mostly through inherited wealth. Alistair (Sam Claflin) has been born into his status and his brother had once been a president of the club which makes him quite a power mover in this area. Miles (Max Irons) is more middle class than high society but due to his looks he is nominated to join the club.
Her camera follows these good-looking actors like rats in a social experiment
The setting is Oxford University. The characters are given a different shade as they descend into a nightmarish sense of debauchery. What we see may not be to our liking and but that does not make the viewing less addictive.
The Riot Club, named after Lord Riot and his over-the-top story, has the tradition of setting up an ultra elegant dinner and then let rip by destroying the establishment and pay back the damages done.
Miles has a relationship with Lauren (Holliday Grainger), which seems to be very genuine. However, the actions of the Riot Club start to escalate and go beyond control, even if there are others who view the members’ actions as acceptable because ultimately “boys will be boys”.
The acting is top-notch; Tom Hollander, as a former club member, is simply perfect.
Scherfig’s view is very unique and she neither condemns nor approves of the proceedings. She wants us to make our own judgement as her camera follows these good-looking actors like rats in a social experiment. The result may not be one we will be happy with, as these young men will probably all end up in seats of power later on in the real world.
The director takes an unflattering view of high society and when one of the club members says the line “I’m sick to death of poor people”, it’s very easy to see why there is such disparity between the way wealth is distributed in the world when the next leaders of industries are groomed in such clubs.
The film has a funny edge to it but it is lined with darknessthat makes it quite a unique cinema outing.