MOVIE TITLE: Luce
RATING: R
LENGTH: 109 minutes
Movie Review Mom GRADE: A
IN A NUTSHELL:
This psychological thriller is a movie that begs you to talk about it afterward. The cast is brilliant and the story is provocative, skillfully addressing some fascinating themes and questions about society and our identities. I can often tell what’s going to happen in a movie, but this drama kept me guessing the entire time. It challenges you to think and look at what’s happening from several different perspectives. Julius Onah directed the movie that is based on the play by J. C. Lee.
TIPS FOR PARENTS:
- Some profanity, including F-bombs.
- Talk of racism, sexism, tokenism, privilege, assimilation
- Crude language and sexual references
- One of the high school girls talks about a terrible game that was played at a party. I sure hope that game doesn’t really exist, but I fear that it does.
- You see a topless woman in a short shower scene and a completely naked woman in a long scene.
- Two times, you see and hear blurred sex scenes.
- Talk of assault.
- Vandalism
THEMES:
- “We should speak our mind, no matter the cost.” – Luce (Kelvin Harrison Jr.)
- Violation of privacy
- Limits
- Family
- Accusations
- Truth vs. rumor vs. what we think we know
- Being put in a box
- Identity
- Trust
- Parenting choices
THINGS I LIKED:
- The cast was absolutely fantastic and includes Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer and Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts. Also included are Tim Roth, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Deshaun Meeks, and Andrea Bang. I imagine we’re going to see some Oscar nominations arriving in a few months that congratulate these performances.
- Kelvin Harrison Jr. is really great and has a bright future in film.
- Fans of Lie to Me: Season 1
will enjoy seeing Tim Roth. I loved the first season of that show and then it started going south.
- Luce means “light”. Luce said that his adoptive American parents named him that because he had some light in him even though he had a dark past in war-torn Eritrea.
will enjoy seeing Tim Roth. I loved the first season of that show and then it started going south.
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:
- I hated that pounding drum sound effect that went on and on in several scenes.
- This is a serious drama with no humor.
- We didn’t have to see all that flesh. I much prefer scenes that are subtle and imply certain actions rather than showing you everything.
- It definitely takes its time to unwind the story.
- Some people might be confused and wonder what happened.
INTERESTING LINES:
- “What’s the difference between punishing someone for being a stereotype and when rewarding them when they’re not.” – Luce (Kelvin Harrison Jr.)
- “Unfair doesn’t make it un-true.” – Luce
- “Once you know something, you can’t un-know it.” – Stephanie Kim (Andrea Bang)
OTHER MOVIES LIKE THIS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:
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