Gradually throughout the American premiere of Claire Denis’ High Life, the French auteur’s first English language and science fiction film, at the New York Film Festival, audience members quietly exited the hall, usually following moments of sexually charged violence committed by the characters against each other onboard an unnamed starship hurtling through the empty darkness of space. Eerily like Monte (Robert Pattinson), the sole surviving crew member, as depicted in the film’s first scene before we flashback to when the other characters were alive, the remaining viewers appear both disturbed and serene when the lights arise in Alice Tully Hall. We few survived, albeit by sitting tight through the picture and absorbing the intensity on-screen without fully considering its meaning for the characters and ourselves. Only after the credits concluded did I began asking myself whether the characters, criminals sentenced to choose between the death penalty and life in space, made the morally correct decision to risk the latter, or if they simply delayed the former.
No unknown alien force, evil supercomputer, or outside observer charge the plot forward, and details of the characters’ mission remain vague beyond their nebulous goal to extract energy from a black hole. Rather, Monte and his fellow convicts, including the sadistic medical officer, Dibs (Juliette Binoche), maintain the ship, perform experiments, and masterbate using ‘the box,’ which, despite my knowledge of its existence in the film prior to viewing it on-screen, proceeded to shock me by synthesizing elements of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and Eyes Wide Shut together. On a philosophical level, High Life borrows the contemplative vibes and uncertain morality of Andrei Tarkovsky’s filmography, with a particular emphasis on Solaris, and, therefore, does not attempt to shove an obvious message down our throats and/or merely entertain us. Due to its sexually explicit and brutal content, Denis’ film will pose a tough challenge to distributor A24, who in the past have successfully sold movies with dark, philosophical themes, such as Paul Schrader’s First Reformed, which Tarkovsky’s work also inspired, but none with as much intensity as High Life. Following a day’s thought, I confidently can state that I love this film, yet can only recommend it to those who feel prepared for an intense work of art. For everyone else, beware the mistakes of those who left early from the NYFF screening. They weren’t smiling as they looked down on their way to the exit.
Stephen Cone is a junior in Columbia College.