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Storyline
SPOILER: Alistair and Miles, both with aristocratic connections, start their first year at Oxford University though they are very different, Miles is down to earth and happy to have a girlfriend from a lower background, Lauren, whilst Alistair is a snob with aspirations to follow his uncle, a Tory MP. The common bond is that both become members of the Riot Club, a long established elite drinking club priding itself on hedonism and the belief that money can buy anything. Having been barred from most establishments in Oxford they have their annual dinner at the function room in a country pub, where their rowdy behaviour angers other patrons though they reimburse Chris, the landlord. They hire a prostitute but she refuses to perform group sex, then one of them rings Lauren, whom they importune to Max's horror. Getting progressively more drunk and ingesting drugs they start to trash the room and when Chris comes to complain Alistair savagely assaults him, landing him in hospital. Though ... Written by
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Taglines:
Filthy Rich, Spoilt Rotten
Motion Picture Rating
(MPAA)
Rated R for language, disturbing and violent behavior, sexual content, nudity and drug use
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Sam Claflin and Natalie Dormer starred together in the Hunger Games trilogy .
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Quotes
Harry Villiers:
I'm just bringing the sexy back.
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Connections
References
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
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Before watching the movie, I would suggest to read a little bit about the Bullingdon Club, which this movie is based on. It's always better to watch a movie with a little bit of context.
That said, the writer, Laura Wade, explores some very complex issues regarding wealth and peer pressure. While these themes have been depicted in movies over and over again, she does not imply that the entire upper class is a bunch of arrogant pricks, who think they can buy their way out of everything. Clearly, they can, you can't really fault them for that, but the Riot Club is not inherently an evil society. They are rich, they drink, and they sometimes lose control, as we all do. The difference is that there are no consequences for them, so they can keep on doing it. I liked how peer pressure was depicted in this film and how the guilt and responsibility of some of the members was shown. It really made me consider how we act in situations we have very little control over and how responsible should we feel in these kinds of situations.
My only complaint about the movie would be the main character (Miles Richards) being a flawless Mary Sue - rich, handsome, witty, intelligent, kind and well meaning, as well as some of the other positive characters being presented as these morally superior beings. That felt very strange for a movie, the main idea of which is that not everything is as black and white as it seems, and we all just try to justify our own actions while doing what we feel (not think) is best.