By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.6
Director: Julius Onah
Starring: Kevin Harrison Jr | Naomi Watts | Norbert Leo Butz | Octavia Spencer | Tim Roth
Country: united_states
Year: 2019
Running time: 109
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7616148/reference
Julie says: “From Rotten Tomatoes(without spoiling anything… i.e.the below all happens right away in the movie)
‘It’s been ten years since Amy and Peter Edgar (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) adopted their son from war-torn Eritrea, and they thought the worst was behind them. Luce Edgar (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) has become an all-star student beloved by his community in Arlington, Virginia. His African American teacher, Harriet Wilson (Octavia Spencer), believes he is a symbol of black excellence that sets a positive example for his peers. But when he is assigned to write an essay in the voice of a historical twentieth-century figure, Luce turns in a paper that makes an alarming statement about political violence. Worried about how this assignment reflects upon her star pupil, Harriet searches his locker and finds something that confirms her worst fears.’
“Or does it ? The story reminds me very much of Michale Haneke’s CACHE although it’s a very different story.
“The acting was excellent as was the story.
“This is a must see.
“It’s on netflix DVD. I saw it at the IFFB. I talked to the director Julius Onah after the movie and at the after party. He was such a nice, pleasant, unassuming and laid back person. 5 cats”
Michael says: “I second Julie’s enthusiasm for this terrific film.
“Man, is humanity so messed up that the color of our skin, or country we come from can make it so complicated and difficult to be successful in society/ From “Watchmen” to smart films such as LUCE, these works don’t take easy paths, but rather look at race relations and the way society looks at race through many of the many complications that… well complicate life.
“This one takes a look at an accomplished senior in high school, the pride of his school, who was adopted by a white couple as a child from war-torn Eritrea. He witnessed and committed atrocities, yet through years of therapy and rehabilitation, he is held up a the promise that hard-work, loving parents and a sold support system can realize. But when his smart, dedicated teacher starts to suspect trouble beneath the surface, the story slowly unfolds, and we are left with trying to understand motivations from all the involved parties.
“The acting is outstanding here, from Naomi Watts and Tim Roth as Luce’s parents, to the truly remarkable Octavia Spencer as his teacher. Kelvin Harrison Jr.’s Luce manages to keep us guessing as to his true motivations, and he never overdoes it.The screenplay is strong, with just one or two bumpy spots, but the direction is assured, and the pacing beautifully handled. 4 cats”
Brett says: “LUCE is a film all fireworks without a bang. The sole purpose to ignite an audience by preying upon dramatics perpetuated by our various media outlets (social, broadcast, or otherwise). On paper, the foundation of a good narrative exists, but the execution stretches beyond the bounds of being compelling and wanders into a land of stretched and contrived. It is a project picked up and rubber-stamped by a major motion picture company for distribution as another way to paint a sensationalized portrait of modern society. Whether or not that portrait is accurate at its roots is secondary to how manufactured and stretched the attempt to paint it is. The stylings and big-name casting only serves to make it all the more disingenuous. The script depends entirely too much on beating the audience over the head with plot points through paint-by-numbers dialogue to make sure that none of its dots are disconnected. Through this easy-to-navigate rabbit hole, the film trusts that that will be enough to overlook how many reality leaps the film takes. All in all, there is certainly an audience for this type of work, as it takes familiar social issues and presents them in a conversation-worthy format, and certainly there is plenty of discuss. Even the attempt to hide in ambiguity and put the audience in a stumped position deserves applause at first glance. But those foundations and potentials for a compelling story fall short when winding through the cinematic work as a whole, as it’s riddled with melodramatics and plot conveniences that do not let me do enough work of my own as an audience member to quite get there. It has the basis for something that could work, but it’s too concerned with being an alternate form of the play/film DOUBT in order to get off the ground and hit upon something that could be more grandiose in the end. As is, it’s just more concerned with being faux ‘clever’ or ‘cute’ at times and veers away from what impact those final moments of the film could have and the uneasiness that the viewer could be left with. And like DOUBT, it appears at times that this script with some tweaks and edits would be best served in a stage play format. 2 almost-got-there-at-times-but-not-quite cats out of 5”
Chris says: “*SPOILERS AHEAD*
“Was on the fence about this and where it was going with all of its misdirection and withholding of information until that meeting where Luce’s parents blatantly lie to his principal and teacher in order to protect him (and more crucially themselves.) This is as kooky at times as that other Kelvin Harrison Jr.-starring troubled teen flick WAVES, but unlike that film’s excessive cinematic style, this one’s most deliberately stagy moments (notably the climactic confrontation between Harrison Jr. and Octavia Spencer) are its most sublime. 3.5 cats“