Tower Block, a new UK action film from directors James Nunn and Ronnie Thompson and writer James Moran (Severance), manages to pack in a lot of thrills despite the limitations that may or may not have come with its low-budget origin. The film, about a group of apartment dwellers that come under siege from a mysterious sniper, uses a novel premise and a cast of likable (if underdeveloped) characters to get a good, action-packed running start. Unfortunately, an unearned ending and a meandering middle keep the film from completely rounding the bases – slowing before stumbling in the final stretch.
Sheridan Smith stars as Becky, a young woman who wakes up one morning to discover she’s spent the night with a one-night stand. Unfortunately, her breakfast mate proves to be the least of Becky’s concerns when her window shatters thanks to the bullet of a shooter wielding a high-powered sniper rifle and parked in a nearby building.
Becky lives in a high-rise tower block that has seen better days. The entirety of the building evacuated in preparation of the building’s imminent destruction, the only residents that are still at home when the bullets start to fly live in the building’s top floor. The residents are a motley crew that include personalities such as Daniel, a teen addicted to first person shooters; Kurtis, a scumbag who regularly squeezes protection money from of his neighbors; and Jenny, a trashy single-mother whose shrill screaming has earned her a scornful eye from most of the other residents. None of the apartment dwellers particularly like each other but if they are going to survive the sniper who is trying to pick them off, they will need to work together.
Tower Block works best in the moments immediately after the first bullet hits. As the dwellers react to the assault, the filmmakers masterfully entangle the audience in the resulting confusion and terror. The mystery of the attack, the imminent danger and the unpredictability of who could die at any moment help keep the film chugging along at a breakneck speed. As the film slows down to watch the neighbors react and plan, though, the film switches gears and something gets dislodged in the process. What should have been a powerful character study that would have provided juicy interactions between a group of people forced into an alliance that they didn’t want instead becomes a sketchy display of poorly developed characters- all overshadowed by the extremely charismatic performance from Jack O’Connell as Kurtis.
Other than O’Connell, who is wonderful as the selfish jerk willing to crack the skulls that need cracking in order to escape the death trap, none of the neighbors are elevated above the broad sketches the film initially paints them as. Nor are the characters’ unique personalities or skill sets well utilized. Tower Block has the film’s opening volley covered but falters when presented with the opportunity to follow up the shock and awe with something meaningful.
Even worse, though, is the point in which the movie becomes a mystery. The identity of the sniper is so uninteresting not even the filmmakers seem particularly concerned with making a big deal out of it. The revelation is an afterthought plain and simple. This wouldn’t have been as big a deal if the film had maintained its momentum all the way up until the end. Plenty of exciting movies have crappy endings – it’s the worm in the apple that we all have had to deal with. Tower Block is a film that is only baked a third of the way through. One killer first act can’t carry the weight of the entire film and the resulting product, while definitely watchable, never achieves the type of fully-developed action it could have claimed as its own.
Director: James Nunn and Ronnie Thompson
Notable Cast: Sheridan Smith, Jack O’Connell and Ralph Brown
Writers: James Moran
