Joe Cole, known for his role in Peaky Blinders, leads the cast of I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, a gritty drama adapted from Keiran Goddard's 2024 novel. The film is set for release in cinemas on Friday, December 4, 2025.
Plot and Cast
Cole plays Rion, a character who has earned substantial money in London. The story follows childhood friends from a Birmingham estate who dreamed of more, but by their 30s, those dreams have not materialised as hoped. The cast includes Anthony Boyle (House of Guinness) as Patrick, Lola Petticrew (Bloodlands) as Shiv, Jay Lycurgo as Oli, and Daryl McCormack (Peaky Blinders) as Conor.
Awards and Critical Reception
The film has already garnered attention, winning the People's Choice Audience Award at the Cannes Film Festival. It holds a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. One critic described it as "a work of tremendous vitality, hope and community," while another called it "an absorbing and moving social-realist picture." The Hollywood Reporter noted it as "a hearty, quintessentially British-Irish café fry-up of gritty realism, class consciousness and masculine despair."
