Five lifelong friends hit thirty and find adulthood hasn’t delivered what it promised. Anthony Boyle, Lola Petticrew, Joe Cole, Jay Lycurgo and Daryl McCormack form an electrifying ensemble in Clio Barnard’s funny, bruising portrait of friendship and precarious Britain. Based on the novel by Keiran Goddard.

2026
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
Director
Runtime
109 Minutes
Country
France, United Kingdom, United States
Classification
Unclassified 15+
Turning thirty was supposed to look different. Lifelong friends Patrick (Anthony Boyle), Shiv (Lola Petticrew), Rian (Joe Cole), Oli (Jay Lycurgo) and Conor (Daryl McCormack) grew up together on a Birmingham estate, but now confront an adulthood that has failed to deliver on the promises of youth. One has left and prospered, others remain; while relationships fracture, addiction takes hold and the expectations of work, property and family become increasingly impossible to meet. Clio Barnard’s vibrant ensemble drama captures the messy entanglements of friendship in a Britain reshaped by precarity and inequality, finding humour, warmth and dark hope among people already exhausted by life, but still trying to build one together.
“A quintet of outstanding performances.”
The Guardian
Cannes
Sydney
Melbourne
Film Credits
Director
Clio Barnard
Year
2026
Country
France, United Kingdom & United States
Language
English
Type
Feature Fiction
Program Strand
World Cinema
Producer
Tracy O’Riordan
Writer
Enda Walsh
Cinematographer
Simon Tindall
Editor
Maya Maffioli
Cast
Anthony Boyle, Daryl McCormack, Jay Lycurgo, Joe Cole & Lola Petticrew
Music
Harry Escott
Film Source
Charades
Genre
Coming of Age & Drama
