I See Buildings Fall like Lightning is a 2026 drama film directed by Clio Barnard, written by Enda Walsh and based on the book of the same name by Keiran Goddard. It stars Anthony Boyle, Joe Cole, Jay Lycurgo, Daryl McCormack and Lola Petticrew as five childhood friends who confront their unfulfilled dreams in the midst of the UK housing crisis.
The film had its world premiere at the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival in 20 May, where it won the section's Audience Award.
Contents
Cast
Anthony Boyle as Patrick
Joe Cole as Rian
Jay Lycurgo as Oli
Daryl McCormack as Conor
Lola Petticrew as Shiv
Millie Brady as Emma
Lucie Shorthouse as Sophie
James Eeles as Marcus
Ryan Walker-Edwards as Si
Sam Brasnell as Kate
Michael Horton
Production
The novel by Keiran Goddard is adapted by Enda Walsh for the film directed by Clio Barnard. It has producer Tracy O’Riordan for Moonspun Films with funding from BBC Film and BFI and Curzon Film distributing. Goddard always thought the book had cinematic potential despite having long interior monologues.
Principal photography took place in the United Kingdom in April 2025, with locations including Birmingham. Cinematographer Simon Tindall shot the production in hybrid formats, 16mm film and digitally, marking his first collaboration with Barnard.
Release
The film is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom on 4 December 2026.
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian praised the "warmth and heartfelt passion" of the central quintet in the cast in a five-star review and described the film as having a "mix of poignancy, defiance and contaminated euphoria [which] stayed with me hours after the closing credits".
Nikki Baughan for Screen Daily called the film an "expertly-observed study of human relationships" but warned that "there are moments when the screenplay veers towards the soapbox…against the scourge of landlords, the inhumanity of capitalism, the stagnation of the working class" but that " these sentiments come from a place of genuine, brown-beaten human experience, rather than a filmmaker trying to make a political point".
Hannah Strong in Little White Lies magazine wrote that "Boyle, Lycurgo and McCormack emerge as the stand-outs, portraying different aspects of modern masculinity thoughtfully" and that the film "displays the intricacies of male friendships with a real tenderness".