In the smart psychological thriller “Luce,” Kelvin Harrison Jr., plays a reluctant poster boy for the new American Dream. The film finds white liberal couple Amy and Peter Edgar (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth), reconsidering their impressions of their adopted black son after they discover he has written a disturbing essay for a history class at school. In the process of exploring the teenager’s mindset, writer-director Julius Onah envisioned the young character’s identity crisis with some very precise reference points.
“There were two models I gave Kelvin for the character while we rehearsed — Barack Obama and Will Smith,” Onah said. “I see them as the epitome of a cool, non-threatening black masculinity. They have power, they’re charismatic and are greatly influential, and, particularly with Obama, are highly intelligent.”
Those names never come up in the movie, but much of the depth in “Luce” comes from everything that’s left unsaid.
“There were two models I gave Kelvin for the character while we rehearsed — Barack Obama and Will Smith,” Onah said. “I see them as the epitome of a cool, non-threatening black masculinity. They have power, they’re charismatic and are greatly influential, and, particularly with Obama, are highly intelligent.”
Those names never come up in the movie, but much of the depth in “Luce” comes from everything that’s left unsaid.
- 8/2/2019
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Luce, a Naomi Watts and Octavia Spencer-led drama about various types of racial expectations in America, is an absolute must-see.
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It is a given that expectations can be a double-edged sword. Yet what can be ambiguous is how those expectations are wielded. When someone is stereotyped to fail the menace is self-evident, but what if they are stereotyped to succeed, and what if those preconceived notions prove as much a filter as an aspiration? Such is the incredibly difficult conversation that Luce broaches in its taut running time. While it errs under two hours, its impact haunts long after the credits roll.
A drama about a tinderbox of good intentions, and the spark that threatens to bring it all down, Luce is the story of its namesake, an all-star high school student who administrators and peers alike compare to Obama, although some without the irony. In actuality,...
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It is a given that expectations can be a double-edged sword. Yet what can be ambiguous is how those expectations are wielded. When someone is stereotyped to fail the menace is self-evident, but what if they are stereotyped to succeed, and what if those preconceived notions prove as much a filter as an aspiration? Such is the incredibly difficult conversation that Luce broaches in its taut running time. While it errs under two hours, its impact haunts long after the credits roll.
A drama about a tinderbox of good intentions, and the spark that threatens to bring it all down, Luce is the story of its namesake, an all-star high school student who administrators and peers alike compare to Obama, although some without the irony. In actuality,...
- 8/1/2019
- Den of Geek
Mark Harrison Aug 1, 2019
If you’ve already seen all of 2019’s summer blockbusters, check out our annual round-up of the less massive films out in August.
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
If you see only one movie at the theater this August, then you’re probably looking at Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw. An epic prospect like Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham teaming up to stop a madman from wiping out half the world’s population seems like a suitable end to the summer blockbuster season that began with Avengers: Endgame.
But honestly, by this point in a fairly average moviegoing summer, some of us are looking to cool off a bit. From indie films to low-budget genre fare, there are usually a few solid alternatives to the bigger movies also arriving in cinemas at this time of year.
Don’t get us wrong: you know we’re...
If you’ve already seen all of 2019’s summer blockbusters, check out our annual round-up of the less massive films out in August.
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
If you see only one movie at the theater this August, then you’re probably looking at Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw. An epic prospect like Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham teaming up to stop a madman from wiping out half the world’s population seems like a suitable end to the summer blockbuster season that began with Avengers: Endgame.
But honestly, by this point in a fairly average moviegoing summer, some of us are looking to cool off a bit. From indie films to low-budget genre fare, there are usually a few solid alternatives to the bigger movies also arriving in cinemas at this time of year.
Don’t get us wrong: you know we’re...
- 8/1/2019
- Den of Geek
Regardless of the premise behind the age-old foundation we still call the American Dream, not all are afforded the same prosperous outcome. Only the most powerful are granted the benefit of the doubt — the luxury to fall, reset and ultimately thrive. For the marginalized forced to kick-start their endeavors far behind on the racetrack, it’s a different story. How the intersection of race, gender and class shapes and oftentimes unjustly dictates one’s journey is eloquently examined in “Luce,” the third feature from Nigerian-American filmmaker Julius Onah.
This cumulatively unnerving psychodrama, where everyone harbors a deep secret, couldn’t be more relevant to today’s America of Black Lives Matter, #MeToo and a severely biased allocation of power. But co-writers Onah and Jc Lee (who wrote the stage play on which the film is based) take matters a step further. Their handsomely dynamic script continually pits various high-stakes qualms against each other,...
This cumulatively unnerving psychodrama, where everyone harbors a deep secret, couldn’t be more relevant to today’s America of Black Lives Matter, #MeToo and a severely biased allocation of power. But co-writers Onah and Jc Lee (who wrote the stage play on which the film is based) take matters a step further. Their handsomely dynamic script continually pits various high-stakes qualms against each other,...
- 7/31/2019
- by Tomris Laffly
- The Wrap
In the middle of a summer of dumb fun and comic-book escapism, it’s some kind of miracle to find a film as seriously ambitious, scrappy and suspenseful as Luce. A provocation about race, privilege and the expectations that come with both, the movie follows the title character, played by star-in-the-making Kelvin Harrison Jr. He’s an African-American student and academic all-star at the Arlington, Virginia high school he attends. His white parents, a doctor named Amy (Naomi Watts) and a financier named Peter (Tim Roth), couldn’t be prouder...
- 7/30/2019
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
When people say a movie feels like a play, they often mean it as a kind of insult — less showy than talky, self-contained, more concerned with ideas than authenticity — but in the case of “Luce,” it’s a compliment. That’s because this discussion-generating film adaptation of Jc Lee’s hot-potato Off Broadway play lasers in on questions of racism, prejudice, and individual potential in America without introducing too many cinematic distractions to the equation. The movie isn’t meant to be realistic; rather it’s an interrogation of idealism. When we set expectations for others, are we leaving them room to be themselves?
In its new form, as a Sundance-anointed indie from director Julius Onah, “Luce” preserves what a rock-solid piece of stage writing can achieve — focusing our attention on big themes — while providing an opportunity you don’t get in a theatrical setting, whereby audiences can study the...
In its new form, as a Sundance-anointed indie from director Julius Onah, “Luce” preserves what a rock-solid piece of stage writing can achieve — focusing our attention on big themes — while providing an opportunity you don’t get in a theatrical setting, whereby audiences can study the...
- 1/27/2019
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
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