Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche get freaky in the future in the new trailer for Claire Denis’ English-language debut, High Life.
The trailer for the sci-fi thriller follows a group of criminals who are lured into a deep-space mission to a massive black hole under the impression that they’ll be freed for their participation. Scientists, however, are actually using the passengers for sexual experiments, while one prisoner (Pattinson), grows closer to the daughter he previously had against his will via artificial insemination.
“We’re scum. Trash. Refuse that didn’t fit into the system. Until someone had the bright idea of recycling us to serve science,” Pattinson says in the trailer before it cycles through scenes of Binoche — one of said scientists — performing disturbing acts on her subjects.
“I know I look like a witch,” Binoche says later on in the clip, to which Pattinson responds: “You’re foxy and you know it.”
Denis, a French filmmaker known for works like Beau Travail, Trouble Every Day, and Bastards, wrote High Life with Jean-Pol Fargeau and Geoff Cox. Novelists Nick Laird and Zadie Smith worked on early drafts of the screenplay, though they reportedly dropped out of the writing process due to creative differences.
High Life held its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last September, where it debuted to enthusiastic reviews from movie critics. Denis’ work drew particular attention for its inclusion of the “f—box,” a sex contraption Binoche mounts in the film.
“In the original script, it’s called the ‘love machine.’ But everyone who saw it said, ‘Oh, love machine is so French.’ So, f—box,” Denis told Vulture of the insane contraption. “[It’s] a terrible place to be alone.”
