Luce is one of the most interesting and timely movies made this decade, which is why even though it just came out I am putting it high on my list. Is it about about a white couple adopting a war-torn African child and the way that child is raised via the impact of his younger upbringings effect? Yes. Is it about the expectations and levels people go to to seek glory and praise in a high school setting? Yes. But these are just minor plot details to get at what Luce is really about: expectations. Shining a light for the world to see while also fitting in is what the lead character struggles with. If that makes him a monster for doing what he thinks is right and how will that effect his "bright future"- these are the issues at the center of this stage play turned movie.
So many great plays are turned into movies and not much is changed at all, but Luce is one of the more cinematic transformations I have seen. There are multiple settings and places involved, phone texting and internet connections play a huge role, and the cinematic qualities matter so much I would believe those that say they didn't even know it was a play I would not be surprised. As soon as I watched Luce, which just came out on streaming last week after a limited theatrical release, I wanted to watch it again, because it boasts a mystery that's constantly changes course AND because it is about so much more than it initially lets on. What does it means to have a family, but also the lack the connection that exists within?
Octavia Spencer exhudes a certain domineering presence like she never has before, Tim Roth and Naomi Watts brings a great chemistry as Luce's parents and as one of cinemas best male/female teams, and newcomer Kelvin Harrison shines as Luce, a lead actor so complex that you can like him and dislike him simultaneously but always see where he is coming from. The screenwriters know these characters inside and out, and the questions this film asks are not comfortable in our current society but should always, always be asked, lest we forget where we are headed if we aren't careful.
Its easy to think and ponder about the direction Luce goes in. Each conversation is a battle, a moral argument, and much food for thought. It is an endlessly rewatchable movie that would also work as an audio only book. The dialogue, in both senses of the word, is riveting.
So many great plays are turned into movies and not much is changed at all, but Luce is one of the more cinematic transformations I have seen. There are multiple settings and places involved, phone texting and internet connections play a huge role, and the cinematic qualities matter so much I would believe those that say they didn't even know it was a play I would not be surprised. As soon as I watched Luce, which just came out on streaming last week after a limited theatrical release, I wanted to watch it again, because it boasts a mystery that's constantly changes course AND because it is about so much more than it initially lets on. What does it means to have a family, but also the lack the connection that exists within?
Octavia Spencer exhudes a certain domineering presence like she never has before, Tim Roth and Naomi Watts brings a great chemistry as Luce's parents and as one of cinemas best male/female teams, and newcomer Kelvin Harrison shines as Luce, a lead actor so complex that you can like him and dislike him simultaneously but always see where he is coming from. The screenwriters know these characters inside and out, and the questions this film asks are not comfortable in our current society but should always, always be asked, lest we forget where we are headed if we aren't careful.
Its easy to think and ponder about the direction Luce goes in. Each conversation is a battle, a moral argument, and much food for thought. It is an endlessly rewatchable movie that would also work as an audio only book. The dialogue, in both senses of the word, is riveting.