'High Maintenance' redefines conventional narrative storytelling in a style that is reminiscent of Hitchcock, Hawks and Kubrick but that is ultimately all its own. The film delivers complex frames, characters and editing that come off deceivingly straight forward, performances from Nicolette Krebitz and Wanja Mues rich with subtlety, subtext and pitch-black deadpan humor, deliberate sound layering, and an airtight yet completely unpredictable story that is as beautiful in its economy and efficiency as in its ultimate existential meaning.
The film uses a sci-fi concept relating to relationships (nospoilers here) to deeply explore very real human connections, or lack thereof. It doesn't stray from conventions, instead rebuilding them from the ground up, reframing science fiction by approaching it from an intensely unique angle. As Miles van der Rohe put it, 'god is in the details,' as are the brilliant touches and intensely meaningful elements in this film.
I had the feeling that I got as fully realized a story in 9 minutes as a good feature might present in 120. The scenes, character arcs and directorial decisions are that clear, concise and meaningful. It could easily be a magnum opus squeezed into 9 minutes but something tells me a year from now we will see more from the filmmaker, though I imagine it will be anything but predictable.
The film uses a sci-fi concept relating to relationships (nospoilers here) to deeply explore very real human connections, or lack thereof. It doesn't stray from conventions, instead rebuilding them from the ground up, reframing science fiction by approaching it from an intensely unique angle. As Miles van der Rohe put it, 'god is in the details,' as are the brilliant touches and intensely meaningful elements in this film.
I had the feeling that I got as fully realized a story in 9 minutes as a good feature might present in 120. The scenes, character arcs and directorial decisions are that clear, concise and meaningful. It could easily be a magnum opus squeezed into 9 minutes but something tells me a year from now we will see more from the filmmaker, though I imagine it will be anything but predictable.