‘I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning’ Review: Clio Barnard Returns With a Clunky Social-Realist Weepie About Five Friends in Birmingham

May 21, 2026 10:44pm PT

By Beatrice Loayza

In her fifth feature film, ‘I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning’, director Clio Barnard, celebrated for works like ‘Ali & Ava’ and ‘The Arbor’, delivers a social-realist drama that struggles under the weight of an overly intricate plot and a pervasive sentimentality. Premiering at Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, the film, penned by Enda Walsh, aims to explore the turbulent lives of five close-knit, 30-something friends amidst the stark realities of Birmingham, UK.

The narrative immerses its characters in a series of intense struggles, encompassing addiction, the precariousness of housing, deep-seated class tensions, and the pain of romantic betrayals. While the premise suggests a film rich with raw emotion and a potent anti-capitalist fervor, the execution, unfortunately, falls short. Described as a “kitchen-sink melodrama,” the review notes that Barnard’s latest offering provides its protagonists with insufficient room to truly develop, resulting in what feels like a “choppy outline” of working-class lives rather than a fully realized, impactful portrayal.

Despite the powerfully evocative title and the inclusion of “scalding imagery”—specifically, archival footage of numerous high-rise housing towers demolished in Birmingham since the turn of the century—the film often fails to match this intensity with its overall emotional resonance. The ingredients for a compelling, “pounding” melodrama are present, but the final product is hampered by an “overly plotted-out” script and what is critiqued as “gloopy sentimentality,” ultimately preventing it from achieving the profound depth implied by its ambitious themes.