Monte and his baby daughter are the last survivors of a damned and dangerous mission to the outer reaches of the solar system. They must now rely on each other to survive as they hurtle toward the oblivion of a black hole.
High Life is an absolute visual spectacle. Granted, most space films are; it's much easier to create strong aesthetic choices when you have that incredibly deep and dark black expanse of space to work with. Any vibrant colours will stand out with a minimal amount of effort. As such there are many examples of gorgeous cinematography (and the use of real imagery too) in the film.
However, outside of some extraordinary visuals that stick in the mind long after watching the film, High Life has more than its fair share of narrative issues. One of the most notable aspects being the non-linear structure of the film. Starting the film towards the end of the timeline then jumping back to the start and filling in the gaps, the structure is very similar to that of Netflix's Bird Box, where the film spoils itself early on, and the more intriguing aspects of the premise are only explored during the final scenes.
Because despite how the synopsis is framed, High Life does not focus on outer space. The film could just as easily take place in a bunker, an island, or a prison. The premise simply places restrictions on the living situations of our cast. One could easily consider the film to be more of a character study, focusing on internal dramas, looking at how people respond to an abnormal situation, outside of the controls of society, yet at the same time, the characters lack the prior development to properly do this. We are provided minimal backstory on the characters, which reduces the impact of their actions, as we have no prior information to compare it too.
With the non-linear narrative, High Life involves a lot of flashbacks and exposition dumps, which sometimes work well, but oftentimes come across clumsy and lazy. There is one example where the audience is introduced to two characters on a train, whose clunky dialogue is present purely to explain the premise, and then the characters are never seen again.
Outside of watching their internal dramas as they follow through with their primary mission, there is a second story arc that is hypersexualised (it actually involves a faux-reproduction machine). It's this secondary plot that provides the more disconcerting and thought-provoking elements to the film, complemented by an absolutely mesmerizing performance from Juliette Binoche. Binoche adds a certain heretical aesthetic that holds your gaze.
Robert Pattinson puts on a great performance alongside Binoche, but the remainder of the cast are ultimately hit-or-miss. Mia Goth and André 3000 have some nice moments, but Claire Denis has a number of side arcs that go nowhere and serve no real purpose in the film. There is a definite boldness in Denis' direction, but the structure creates inconsistent pacing which makes it difficult to follow the passage of time without providing another dump of exposition.
High Life is hypersexualised and visually resplendent but from a narrative standpoint, the structure is awkward and cumbersome. Thought-provoking and emotionally heavy at times, though mainly due to the framing of the scenes, the film's sci-fi elements are downplayed until the final act. An intriguing viewing, but the premise had much more potential.