Set the Thames on Fire

Two soul-mates steer a course through a decaying, semi-submerged London in this bizarre and blackly comic sci-fi with Noel Fielding and Sally Phillips.

In a decaying, semi-submerged London that’s succumbed to rising sea levels, two strangers (Michael Winder, Max Bennett) form a bond. Sharing a sardonic view of their city's poisonous deterioration, they join forces to escape for a new life.

Deep black comedy or outlandish sci-fi drama? Ben Charles Edwards’ utterly uncategorisable work is one of the strangest British films of recent times. Colourful comic characters such Noel Fielding, Sally Phillips and David Hoyle are peppered through the cast, but its dark visual palette is one of steampunk grotesquerie, reminiscent of Terry Gilliam, Peter Greenaway or Jean-Pierre Jeunet. With echoes also of Richard Lester’s post-apocalyptic The Bed Sitting Room, Charles Edwards’ has crafted a distinctive, admirable work that seems to have emerged from the unseen margins of British cinema.