Film Review — High Life (2018)
Robert Pattinson sets a course to oblivion in Clare Denis’ provocative sci-fi thriller.
A group of death-row criminals participate in a dangerous one-way mission to the unknown depths of space.
Clare Denis is a filmmaker obsessed with humanity in its purest, rawest form. High Life stays true to the famed French auteur’s career-long commitment, a challenging but highly rewarding denouement of the human condition.
On the surface, High Life feels strikingly similar to a number of genre classics. Its dedication to science evokes Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, while the homely feel of the hydroponics garden contrasting with the cold truth of a declining spaceship corridor is very reminiscent of Douglas Trumbull’s Silent Running.
But this isn’t a science fiction story. Not really. Denis uses the concepts of space travel and unimaginable isolation as a lens to look inward, employing a non-linear structure to show us for who we really are. Warts and fluids (lots of fluid!) and all.
It’s not quite the ravenously sexy trip it was originally touted as, and a lot of its themes are still in the process of being unpacked, but as a piece to stimulate thought and stir the cauldron of emotions, it is an unmitigated triumph. Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche and their band of damned drifters might not be in control, but Clare Denis most certainly is.
★★★★☆
If you haven’t already, consider hitting that follow button for more reviews and crap opinions on film. It doesn’t cost anything and will give me that essential dopamine hit and motivation to keep writing. But mostly the dopamine.
You can also find me on Letterboxd where I try (and mostly fail) to keep up with the kids and their witty meme reviews. You know the kind.
