LUCE may have it's heart in the right place, but, it so bumbles the execution that it comes off like the worst kind of cinema provocation.
Luce (Kelvin Harrison Jr) is a high school senior who was a refugee from a war torn African country and has been adopted and brought up by upper middle class white parents Peter and Amy (Tim Roth and Naomi Watts). By all appearances, Luce is a model student (he's even referred to, sneeringly, as another "Obama" by one of the other black students). Scholarships, speech engagements and accolades flow his way. That is, until he rubs one of his teachers, Ms. Wilson (Octavia Spencer), the wrong way. Before you know it, all kinds of hints and outright accusations of everything from harassment, to violence to sexual assault are being bandied about.
Co-Writer (with J.C. Lee) and Director Julius Onah broach some interesting themes about what it's like to be a minority with high expectations. Unfortunately, it's handled in such an awkward ham-fisted manner that whatever point the movie is trying to make gets buried in the worst level of 'woke' theatrics. It's the kind of movie that teases the viewer with hints, clues and scenes cut off just before a crucial story point is delivered. It's supposed to lure the viewer in and make it more suspenseful, but, the tact gets tiresome quickly. Worse, the deception creates a feeling it's all artificial. A ruse to keep the viewer interested, without having the dramatic goods to make it pay off with anything meaningful.
The performances are fine, with Harrison delivering even while he's ultimately let down by the material. Spencer is a solid actress but her poorly written character takes the brunt of the poorly constructed screenplay (a subplot about her troubled sister is particularly odious). The dialogue (when it's allowed to fully play out) has some snap and vigor and Onah's staging shows promise. It's unfortunate that LUCE's filmmakers felt that by keeping the viewer in the dark for as long as possible, that it was the route to greater significance or to shining a light on the issues it raises. It isn't.
Luce (Kelvin Harrison Jr) is a high school senior who was a refugee from a war torn African country and has been adopted and brought up by upper middle class white parents Peter and Amy (Tim Roth and Naomi Watts). By all appearances, Luce is a model student (he's even referred to, sneeringly, as another "Obama" by one of the other black students). Scholarships, speech engagements and accolades flow his way. That is, until he rubs one of his teachers, Ms. Wilson (Octavia Spencer), the wrong way. Before you know it, all kinds of hints and outright accusations of everything from harassment, to violence to sexual assault are being bandied about.
Co-Writer (with J.C. Lee) and Director Julius Onah broach some interesting themes about what it's like to be a minority with high expectations. Unfortunately, it's handled in such an awkward ham-fisted manner that whatever point the movie is trying to make gets buried in the worst level of 'woke' theatrics. It's the kind of movie that teases the viewer with hints, clues and scenes cut off just before a crucial story point is delivered. It's supposed to lure the viewer in and make it more suspenseful, but, the tact gets tiresome quickly. Worse, the deception creates a feeling it's all artificial. A ruse to keep the viewer interested, without having the dramatic goods to make it pay off with anything meaningful.
The performances are fine, with Harrison delivering even while he's ultimately let down by the material. Spencer is a solid actress but her poorly written character takes the brunt of the poorly constructed screenplay (a subplot about her troubled sister is particularly odious). The dialogue (when it's allowed to fully play out) has some snap and vigor and Onah's staging shows promise. It's unfortunate that LUCE's filmmakers felt that by keeping the viewer in the dark for as long as possible, that it was the route to greater significance or to shining a light on the issues it raises. It isn't.