Peaky Blinders star Joe Cole's "stunning" near-perfect drama gets intense first trailer

Peaky Blinders' Joe Cole's "stunning" drama has released its first trailer. I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning is directed by Cilo Barnard (The Arbor) and follows five childhood friends in Birmingham as they're faced with the reality of their lives amidst the UK housing crisis.

The logline reads: "Growing up on a Birmingham estate, childhood friends Patrick, Shiv, Rian, Oli and Conor played together, skipped school together and dreamt of the lives they would have one day. But now that they’ve hit thirty, harsh reality bites, and the future they once hoped for seems more out of reach than ever."

Alongside Cole, the cast also includes Anthony Boyle (House of Guinness), Jay Lycurgo (Titans), Daryl McCormack (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande), Lola Petticrew (Bloodlands), Millie Brady (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) and Lucie Shorthouse (We Are Lady Parts).

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The film is based on the novel of the same name by Kieran Goddard and adapted for the screen by Enda Walsh (Hunger, Die My Love), with Curzon Films acting as the UK distributor, and some additional development credits from BBC Film and BFI.

The trailer for the film shows some pretty intense moments, including two characters engaging in a fist fight, as the friend group is forced to confront their places in an uncertain world - and what that could mean for their future.

Over on Rotten Tomatoes, I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning has pulled in an impressive score of 95%, and critics have nothing but praise for the film.

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"A credible look at the country's social inequalities, and an impressively mounted one to boot," Radio Times wrote, while Film Magazine Ireland said: "The dynamic, quickly cut camerawork by Simon Tindall and the brash, down-to-earth dialogue put I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning very firmly in the much-beloved kitchen-sink genre of Ken Loach and Shane Meadows."

Meanwhile, Little White Lies described it as a "stunning story", adding: "Barnard’s film is full of warmth for its characters but also articulates salient points about a world that was promised to a generation if they did everything right, only to discover in adulthood that never existed to begin with."

I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning had its world premiere at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and will be officially released in UK and Irish cinemas on 6 December 2026.

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