For its virtuoso and wide-ranging technical feats with a form and style that seem wholly its own, all in the service of characterizing a brilliant, acerbic scientist from cradle to grave, and beyond. The film's monochromatic palette, intriguing textures, wry narration, and imaginative aesthetic illuminate the life and mind of a potentially cold figure, yielding a precise vision of what dazzles and bores him during the finite time he will spend on this strange, wonderful planet.