The genre of science fiction has been a focus of great filmmakers since Georges Mellies made A Trip to the Moon in 1902. Since then Kubrick, Tarkovsky and Nolan have all used the genre as the basis for career-defining masterpieces. With HIGH LIFE, Claire Denis follows in these legends’ footsteps while venturing into unexplored territory all her own.

High Life is the story of Monte (Robert Pattinson), his infant daughter and an exploratory deep space mission that has gone terribly wrong. We learn- in flashbacks- what lead Monte to this point: a deep space mission was offered to serious criminals as an alternative to a life behind bars or a death sentence. This idea of space, not as a boundless frontier but as a prison speaks equally to the internal life of Denis’ characters and her view of humanity.

The film is filled with elements of transcendentalism, non-linear story-telling and surrealism packed into what is a truly horrifying vision of the future. Denis seems, for the most part, uninterested in exploring the science element of her own science fiction, choosing to shoot almost the entire film in the confined spaces of her space craft and only offering glimpses of the dark, cold vacuum of space. What High Life is really interested in is pushing the boundaries of the human experience, not only in her characters, but in her audience.

High Life is a deeply probing and inflammatory film, and in the truest sense of the word it is a masterpiece. Not only does Pattinson give the best performance of his life, but Denis populates her film with memorable characters like Andre Benjamin’s Tcherny, who’s final moments have haunted me since I first experienced them. This was my first Claire Denis film and it is a contemplative, troubling and beautiful work of art; High Life will stay with me forever.

Riley Shingler is a film critic and writer who can be found on Letterboxd and at shinglerfilms.com