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FILM REVIEW: The Riot Club (2014) – filmed in England, UK
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FILMED IN THE UK

FILM REVIEW: The Riot Club (2014) – filmed in England, UK

September 27th, 2014 Sonja ENGLISH FILMS, FILM REVIEWS, FILMED IN THE UK
FILM REVIEW: The Riot Club (2014) – filmed in England, UK
(Last Updated On: 2nd November 2018)

I was shocked and fascinated at the same time by the darker side of the British class system with exceptional thriller The Riot Club. Judging from the trailer, I expected many different gatherings of the Riot Club and was somewhat surprised that the main part of the film was just one single night at a pub in Wales. But what a night it was! The posh boys went wild.

The Story

But let's start from the beginning, which is a rather funny flashback of how the Riot Club was founded in the 18th century. The camera then follows Miles (Max Irons, The White Queen), during his first days at Oxford University. Also new on board is Alistair Ryle, played by Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games). To say it in the words of the Riot Club, a "rather unhappy looking chap", who seemingly did not have much choice when choosing his university. Of course, his father and grandfather studied at Oxford as well – and they even stayed in exactly the same room.

New kid Miles arrives at Oxford. Photo: moviefail.com

New kid Miles arrives at Oxford. Photo: moviefail.com

Miles and Alistair then pass some questionable tests and are eventually admitted to the club. At the same time, Miles starts a relationship with Lauren, played by Holliday Grainger (The Borgias) and the boys head to Wales for their notorious night out. On their mission to get totally smashed, or how they call it, "château'd", they end up actually smashing the room into pieces. There is a nasty run-in with Lauren and an even nastier one with the pub's landlord.

The Location

In the summer of 2013, the crew was spotted at Oxford University and in Magpie Lane in the town centre of Oxford, England. Further filming took place at Winchester College, which is another very expensive private school for boys aged 13 to 18, as well as Pinewood Studios.

Miles and Lauren in Oxford. Photo: telegraph.co.uk

Miles and Lauren in Oxford. Photo: telegraph.co.uk

The Performance

In a Sky Behind-the-scenes interview, cast member Jessica Brown Findlay (she plays the pub owner's daughter and waitress Rachel) said very fittingly: At the beginning you find yourself laughing with them, but as you see the more darker side of these posh young men, you feel almost guilty about having laughed in the beginning. This certainly applied to me as well.

"Within minutes, the story switches from very funny to really scary"

There were indeed quite a few funny moments in the first half of the film. For example when Ben Schnetzer, who plays a super-rich Greek student called Dimitri, gets the windscreen of his luxury convertible puked upon by another club member. Dimitri stops the car and just throws the keys through the letter box of a Charity for the Homeless shop. His comment: "The ashtray was full anyway". His companion's comment: "What are you doing? The homeless don't even know how to drive!"

Car scene from the Riot Club. Photo: oxfordtimes.co.uk

Car scene from the Riot Club. Photo: oxfordtimes.co.uk

The main message, I think, is that some of Britain's so-called upper class graduates somehow  manage to get away with a lot of bad things. Simply by buying their way out of it. But, as one once again learns in this film, money can't buy you everything. Certainly not dignity. In this respect, I think that Alistair's outburst "I am sick to death of poor people!" captures the main idea quite well.

The Final Verdict:

Well done, but this film will leave you with a really bad gut feeling!

**** 4 out of 5 stars

What did you think of the super snobs? Tell me in the comments below!

8

Summary

Well done, but this film will leave you with a really bad gut feeling!

8 Story
8 Location
8 Performance
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Sonja

Sonja

I am an ex London expat now living back in Germany. Having worked part-time in a cinema since my school days, the cinema (or in 2020 rather Netflix & co) is my second home. If you don't find me there, I am probably travelling the world in order to trace my favourite film locations and film settings. On filmfantravel.com, I combine these two passions by sharing my best tips about film-inspired travel. Join the journey on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @filmfantravel!

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Hi! I'm Sonja from Bremen, Germany. I'm a full-time English to German Marketing Translator, Linguistic Reviewer and Tour Guide on a part-time mission to discover the world through movies and series.

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I recently started watching ski jumping competitio
I recently started watching ski jumping competitions on TV again. This inspired me to rewatch the film “Eddie the Eagle“ (2015), which is currently on Netflix.

The film is based on the real-life story of British ski jumper Eddie Edwards. Eddie managed to take part in the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada in 1988 even though he only started training for his ski jumps at the mature age of 22. 😂🙈

The scenes for “Eddie the Eagle“ were mainly filmed at the real-life ski jumping hills in Garmisch-Patenkirchen and Oberstdorf in Bavaria, southern Germany.

I personally have not yet been to these ski jumping hills, but I have been to the ski jumping hill „Holmenkollen“ in Oslo, Norway, which is equally stunning.

Have you ever been to a ski jumping hill?

Photo 1: Scene from
“Eddie the Eagle“ (2015). Larry Horricks - © TM & 2016 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.
Photo 2: © Sonja Irani - FilmFanTravel.com

#eddietheeagle #netflix #filminspiredtravel #filmlocations #movielocations #skijumping #holmenkollen #oslo #norway #visitoslo #dreamchasersnorway #lovescandinavia #visitnorway #bestofscandinavia #dreamynorway #norwaytravel #norwaytrip #onlyinnorway

Christmas is almost over and although many things 
Christmas is almost over and although many things have been different this year, some things never change... Such as our favourite Christmas movies that we can watch over and over again... and that make us dream about future travel destinations! 😉 💭 

One of my favourite Christmas series to look forward to this year was the second season of the Norwegian romcom series “Home for Christmas” (OT: Hjem til jul) with @idaelisebroch_official and @felixsandman! The series was released on Netflix on 18 December 2020. 

When I was working as a tour guide in Norway this summer, I was lucky enough to pass by Røros - the UNESCO world heritage town that served as the setting and main film location for the series! 

Read more about the series and its film location Røros on my blog FilmFanTravel.com(link in my bio above)! 

Which Christmas movie has inspired your upcoming travels? 

Photo 1: Scene from “Home for Christmas” (2019-) filmed in Røros, Norway. © Netflix. Photo 2: Me at the same street in Røros, Norway in August 2020. © Sonja Irani / FilmFanTravel.com

#destinationroros #destinasjonrøros  #netflix #netflixshows #norway #roros #homeforchristmasnetflix #hjemtiljul #dreamchasersnorway #traveleurope #filminspiredtravel #filmlocation #filmlocations #movielocations #lovescandinavia #norway #visitnorway #bestofscandinavia #dreamynorway #norwaytravel #norwaytrip #onlyinnorway #rorørosregionen #godjul @visitnorway

Just like American Marketing Manager Emily in the 
Just like American Marketing Manager Emily in the new Netflix series “Emily in Paris”, I followed almost every fashion trend back in 2007. 😂🤷🏻‍♀️Here I am in front of the Eiffel Tower wearing a massive “link chain necklace”. Hey, it was fashionable at the time, okay? InStyle magazine said so! 😂🙈

Writing my newest film review about the American girl who makes the big move to Paris (link currently in bio), I realised that it has been exactly 10 years since my last visit to the city of love in 2010. So I really would like to go back in 2021.

Who else was inspired to put Paris on their post-pandemic travel list by watching “Emily in Paris”?

Photo 1: Scene from “Emily in Paris” (2020-). © Netflix. Photo 2: © Sonja Irani / FilmFanTravel.com

#emilyinparis #netflix #netflixshows #paris #france #citytrip #traveleurope #filminspiredtravel #filmlocation #filmlocations #movielocations #lilycollins #thisisparis #visitparis #ig_paris #parisianlife #hello_france #parisjetaime #parislife #exploreparis

Blarney Castle near Cork, Ireland in full autumn b
Blarney Castle near Cork, Ireland in full autumn bloom back in October 2016.

The castle’s unique attraction is to kiss the famous Blarney stone on top of the castle. What’s more... you apparently get the gift of eloquence afterwards. The catch: You have to lean over backwards - head first - to reach it! Apart from that, kissing a stone that millions others have kissed before is not exactly in line with the current Covid hygiene rules... 😂

As far as I know Blarney Castle itself has not yet been used as a filming location, but the website states that it’s open for bookings for TV and movie crews. Maybe something to look forward to in the year 1 or 2 AC (After Corona). 😂🙈 Let’s hope so because with Ireland being the main film location of major TV and movie productions such as “Game of Thrones”, “Star Wars” and “Vikings”, there is much to discover for film fans! 🤗
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#blarneycastleandgardens #autumn #autumnleaves #filminspiredtravel #ireland #loveireland #irelandtravel #discoverireland #map_of_europe #visitireland #instaireland #irland #irish_daily #daily_ireland #images_ireland  #castle #castlesineurope #castlesinfall #colorsinfall #castlesofireland #autumncolours


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