Review of The Riot Club (2014) by Maksim B — 19 Sep 2015

Provocative, polarizing and definitely hard-to-chew, The Riot Club is not a movie for everyone. Even though it could be considered quite superficial, this movie is a captivating look at the vulgar, privileged lifestyle of young British upper-class men who are to be Britain's elite one day. Brutal and sometimes shocking this is a simple story depicted in a way that many would probably dislike.

Miles (Max Irons) is a first-year student at Oxford, when he is recruited in the very exclusive The Riot Club. A club for very privileged, super-rich boys at the university for whom there are no boarders and limits. The club works as a sort of decadent gathering of young and arrogant men who trip on alcohol, drugs, sex and offending others. Protected by the money and power of their families the the members of The Riot Club know no limits when it comes to parties and this is shown throughout most of the movie. At the annual "season" opening, after the recruitment procedures have finished, the members of the club gather in a private space in a small village restaurant and start their decadent evening of food, alcohol, drugs, and sex.

The movie mostly focuses on the scenes from that particular evening, the recruitment process prior to it and the aftermath of the night. Shown through the eyes of multiple actors, Lone Scherfig's delivery has one simple message to the audience: depicting the environment and the world of these rich boys. A world of debauchery, ambitions and power, a world where friendships last only as far as it suit the people, The Riot Club is an ugly depiction of very cruel world.

Recommending this movie is definitely not an easy task, especially given the fact that this is definitely not a mainstream entertainment. Uneasy and far from being perfect, this is a provoking delivery which deserves to be seen.