The Riot Club

The Riot Club
UK theatrical poster
Directed by	Lone Scherfig
Written by	Laura Wade
Produced by	Graham Broadbent Peter Czernin
Starring	Sam Claflin Max Irons Douglas Booth and Olly Alexander
Cinematography	Sebastian Blenkov
Edited by	Jake Roberts
Production company	Blueprint Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures International
Release date	19 September 2014 (2014-09-19)
Running time	107 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Riot Club is a 2014 British drama thriller film directed by Lone Scherfig and written by Laura Wade, based on Wade's 2010 play Posh. The film stars Max Irons, Sam Claflin and Douglas Booth. It is set among the Riot Club, a fictional all-male, exclusive dining club at Oxford University. When the play Posh premiered, the Riot Club was often described as a thinly veiled version of the real-life Bullingdon Club, although according to Wade it is entirely fictitious.

Synopsis

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 they 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. Alistair takes the club in more of a competitive way and ends up loathing Miles. 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. After hiring a prostitute who refuses to perform group oral sex, Alistair takes Miles' phone and texts Lauren without Miles knowing, whom they importune to Miles' 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 shocked, none of the others do anything to stop him except Miles, who rings for an ambulance. The boys are all arrested but believing that the club is more important than the individual, they agree not to give statements and go on to suggest that Miles, as the newest club member, should take the blame for the attack on Chris. Alistair's skin is then found underneath Chris' fingernails, meaning they can arrest and charge him. Miles' now-ex girlfriend refuses to talk to him, and Miles is approached by the new president of the Riot Club where he decides to leave the club.

Cast

• Max Irons as Miles 'Milo' Richards - A first-year student who joins the Riot Club. Miles is politically left and becomes uncomfortable and disillusioned with the actions of his club mates. He attended Westminster School.
• Sam Claflin as Alistair Ryle - A first-year student whose brother, Sebastian, was considered a 'legendary' member of the Riot Club. Alistair is politically right, leading to intense conflict and rivalry with Miles. Alistair attended Harrow School, unlike his brother, who attended Eton. Alistair is ultimately sent down from Oxford, though it is implied that he will have a successful political career due to the club's connections.
• Douglas Booth as Harry Villiers - An older, charismatic student whose family is quite wealthy, though they partially maintain this by allowing tourists to view their home, something which deeply rankles Harry. His uncle, Jeremy, was previously a member of the Riot Club. Educated at Eton
• Holliday Grainger as Lauren - A Northern first-year student from a middle-class/working-class family who enters into a relationship with Miles at the start of the film. After being abused at the Club's dinner she breaks the relationship off with Miles.
• Freddie Fox as James Leighton-Masters - The outgoing president of the club; he is criticized by the other members of the club for scaling back the club's activities in an effort to not jeopardize his future.
• Natalie Dormer as Charlie - A prostitute hired by Harry.
• Jessica Brown Findlay as Rachel - Daughter of Chris and waitress at the restaurant where the club has their dinner.
• Sam Reid as Hugo Fraser-Tyrwhitt - An older student whose family, though aristocratic, is not financially well-off. He attended the Westminster School with Miles and although they didn't socialize, Miles remembers Hugo composing limericks in Latin, something which is implied got him bullied. Hugo is homosexual, and has a romantic interest in Miles, who rebuffs him.
• Ben Schnetzer as Dimitri Mitropoulos - An older student of Greek heritage who seems to act as the club's primary bankroll, possibly in an effort to combat the other members of the club's latent racism. It is also suggested that Dimitri is nouveau riche. He appears to have a close friendship with Guy Bellingfield, though it is the very same member who constantly mocks Dimitri and his heritage.
• Matthew Beard as Guy Bellingfield - An older student who makes no secret of his desire to succeed James as president of the club. He is close friends with Dimitri, though he often makes jokes about his Greek heritage. He presents himself as very enthusiastic with little to no regard for any serious matters.
• Tom Hollander as Jeremy Villiers MP - Harry's uncle and a successful Conservative MP. In the play, he is Guy's godfather.
• Jack Farthing as George Balfour - A 'country gentleman' who displays enthusiastic interest and knowledge in farming, farming equipment, and llamas. Balfour seems more egalitarian than some of his fellow club mates, and spends time with his family's tenant farmers, though Alistair Ryle manipulates uses Balfour's insecurity about his position with the farmers to convince him to take part.
• Anastasia Hille as Alistair's mother
• Olly Alexander as Toby Maitland - An older student who appears to have a very close friendship with Ed.
• Josh O'Connor as Ed Montgomery - An older student who appears to have a very close friendship with Toby. Ed is very unlucky with the ladies, and consistently displays a lack of respect for women by objectifying them.
• Harry Lloyd as Lord Ryot

Production

On February 5, 2013 news reported that HanWay has boarded Blueprint Pictures to produce the adaptation of play Posh written by Laura Wade, producer Graham Broadbent and Pete Czernin set to produce with BFI Film Fund and Film4 Productions. On March 15, 2013 four actors Robert Pattinson, Sam Claflin, Max Irons and Douglas Booth were in circling around the cast to join as lead. Which later on March 18, Max Irons confirmed his role to lead the film. On May 19, 2013 Sam Claflin also joined the cast of the film, Douglas Booth is also in the cast. On May 20, 2013 Universal Pictures International has acquired the film for UK and Irish rights. On July 11, 2013 Natalie Dormer also joined the film cast.

Filming

The shooting of the film began on June 30, 2013 in Oxford, England. The crews were spotted during the filming of some scenes at Magpie Lane. Filming also took place at Pinewood studios and Winchester College.

Marketing

The first trailer for the film was released on May 16, 2014.

External links

• The Riot Club at IMDb
• The Riot Club at Rotten Tomatoes