Space oddity disappoints
High Life (R16, 108 mins) Directed by Claire Denis Reviewed by James Croot ★★★
Septuagenarian French filmmaker Claire Denis (White Material) admits this space oddity was inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1972 film, Solaris.
And it’s true that there is a fair dollop of that movie’s melancholic air and design aesthetic about this tale of a group of prisoners’ ‘‘class 1 suicide ride’’ to try to capture the rotating energy of a black hole.
Then again, it’s arguable that there are also elements cribbed from everything from Event Horizon to Alien 3, Interstellar, 2001 and Under the Skin. Plus, a couple of disturbing scenes that wouldn’t look out of place within the oeuvre
of French enfant terrible Gasper Noe (Irreversible, Climax).
At its somewhat hollow heart, High Life is the story of Monte (Robert Pattinson) and his daughter Willow (Scarlett Lindsey and Jessie Ross). As they hurtle towards their destiny, Monte remembers how they came to be alone on the spacecraft and how she came to be born onboard.
Looking after the crew of convicts was Dr Dibs (Juliette Binoche), a troubled scientist dealing with her own demons, as well as conducting ‘‘fertility’’ experiments on her fellow shipmates. Hellbent on success, Dibs resorted to some extreme measures to achieve her goal.
Now, Monte and Willow are having to live day by day, filling out a report every 24 hours just to ensure their life support systems stay online.
With its visceral and confronting imagery and score of ‘‘dissonant jazz’’, this detached, icy drama certainly won’t be for everyone. There is a compelling chilliness to the story and it sometimes offers up more questions than answers, but there’s an overwhelming feeling of ennui and languidness that more than slightly frustrates.