Comments on: Review: Lone Scherfig’s ‘The Riot Club’ A Bludgeoning Look At The British Elite

By: Lauren

Lauren — Mon, 23 May 2016 03:52:04 +0000

I actually quite liked this movie. Claflin\’s performance is particularly good, but Irons holds his own as well. There is more to it than "look how awful these people are". They express the disdain they have for the lower classes in a way that actually examines their privilege.

By: Jack

Jack — Mon, 23 May 2016 03:52:04 +0000

Sorry, went on so long I need to make a couple of corrections – "basic power" should read "basic path to power" and "politics has traditionally dominated" should read "BEEN dominated."

By: Jack

Jack — Mon, 23 May 2016 03:52:04 +0000

[Continued] The current face of the Conservative Party is very different. They\’re a lot more socially liberal (ie. the leadership support gay rights) but in class terms they\’ve actually regressed to the bad old days of being largely dominated by those born of privilege. You mention the Bullingdon Club – David Cameron and two of his possible successors as Tory leader, George Osborne (chancellor of the exchequer) and Boris Johnson (mayor of London) all followed the same basic power from the super-exclusive private school Eton to Conservative seniority, and the Bullingdon Club at Oxford was a crucial step on their way. Obviously you get into the Bullingdon club on the basis of the paunch in daddy\’s wallet, and it\’s a useful place to make connections for the future. At the moment there\’s a big debate here about social mobility, diversity and the "political class" – how our mass of politicians aren\’t representative of modern Britain. What I\’m trying to say is – although I haven\’t actually seen The Riot Club yet – there\’s probably more to it than just "rich people are awful" because it exists in a very, very particular context about something exclusively British and extremely political. Yeah, we\’ve always had deeply ingrained elites here, but there\’s a reason this film came out in 2014.

By: Jack

Jack — Mon, 23 May 2016 03:52:04 +0000

I get that this is a probably rush-written festival write-up, but there needs to be a bit more sociopolitical context here. British politics has traditionally dominated by those of an elite sphere of wealth and influence – I hear what you\’re saying, no shit, Britain still has an effing *monarchy*, of course we have a heavy class system – but, actually, the old school upper class has been somewhat usurped by a sort of nouveau riche since the right-wing economic reforms of Margaret Thatcher, who was notable for being a rare Conservative leader from a relatively modest, lower middle class background.

[NOTE: I\’m gonna have to post this in a couple of parts because your lovely robots have determined that it "seems spammy." I guess they don\’t talk politics much.]

By: Rory

Rory — Mon, 23 May 2016 03:52:04 +0000

Max Irons, Sam Claflin and Douglas Booth are all getting parts bases solely on their looks. They\’ve yet to establish any screen presence or real acting ability. Consequently, they aren\’t offered roles in truly solid films, and I\’m getting tired of seeing these pretty boys get parts that should go to men who can actually act. It\’s a real disappointment as far as Scherfig is concerned because An Education was so good. I\’m not sure how you can turn a hit stage play into a bad movie, but casting actors who aren\’t first rate probably has something to do with it.