My choice for one of the great underrated films of the 90s; if only it had received more love.

I still wish she had received an Oscar nomination for Howards End. It's a shame how her later work with Burton (some of which was really good, in and of itself) has overshadowed a lot of brilliant performances in period pieces from the 80s and 90s.

Given she is my favorite working actress (if only she had won Best Actress for The Wings of the Dove), this interview is exactly what my Tuesday morning needed.

Fair enough. Given Ballard's childhood background in a civilian prison camp, I think he was deliberately going for as extreme a view as possible over seemingly trivial encounters, but whether the book/film works because or inspire of that (or if it works at all) will be highly subjective.

Well, because you're nice, sure thing!

You are very kind to say so. Cookie Puss for all!

Thank you, cool cat! It's great to see you around too.

Precisely. There doesn't need to be this grand event that sends everyone into a chaotic state; sometimes, a gradual buildup can unleash the same amount of havoc.

It's a deeply creepy read. I recommend it highly!

That's an interesting way of putting it (particularly regarding the book): there are the upper middle class, solidly middle class, and the working class. But, unless one defines the upper class based on a more aristocratic model, I would personally argue the top floor inhabitants are 'upper class,' even if they have…

Between this and Katherine Dunn's death, talk about a depressing way to start a Friday.

Definitely. Once you've lived through something like that, I'd imagine it would be hard to color a person's creative works.

Has Portishead officially released their SOS cover? I try to avoid downloads whenever possible (like to see the artist(s) in question get paid, etc), but I couldn't find it on iTunes or Amazon. It wasn't even in the official soundtrack!

Beautifully put. While I'll admit I was initially puzzled by how the novel didn't explicitly define what drove the chaos, I ultimately loved and admired (and felt deeply unsettled) by Ballard's take that sometimes chaos happens over the smallest things that build up to tsunami-like proportions. There doesn't always…

The book is great (i loved the film too), but it also does really clarify or point to a singular reason why the high-rise falls into chaos.

Luke Evans was terrific in the film. It's a shame he doesn't have more mainstream recognition for his acting; he's very talented.

I'm not sure if you've read the book (if you haven't, I would say do so, but like the film, it never fully defines a single tipping point for the building's descent into chaos), but to me it seemed because there wasn't a singular catalyst, more just a series of little events and aggressions that spiralled out of…

I saw it when it was released in Britain and I really loved it. I had read the book just before seeing it, and my only disappointment (and it was a relatively minor one) was that the film didn't spend much time looking at how the 'middle class' in high-rise served as a buffer and a support to the cruelties of the top…

It's now called 'Reasonable Discussions.' Same time, just a different name.

Not anymore than I am between the housing price differences between NY/SF and cities in the Midwest. But still, it's a reason why I would be happy to live in the North if I have a chance.