Luce Movie Review

Luce (2019)

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Written by: J.C. Lee & Julius Onah (screenplay by), J.C. Lee (based on the play by)
Directed by: Julius Onah
Starring: Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Tim Roth, Norbert Leo Butz
Rated: R
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Plot
A married couple is forced to reckon with their idealized image of their son, adopted from war-torn Eritrea, after an alarming discovery by a devoted high school teacher threatens his status as an all-star student.

Verdict
This starts with a seemingly perfect student. He's almost too perfect and at first you don't know if it's intentional or just a shortcoming in the movie. This works backwards a few scenes at a time as the viewer seeks answers. Amidst the mystery and drama unfolding, this movie explores stereotyping and tokenism. Who matters and why? Since Luce has overcome to much, he's allowed more leeway than someone who hasn't. This movie centers on two black track stars. Luce, a child soldier who has overcome his past to become a top student athlete is allowed plenty of leeway while Luce's friend is kicked off the team for one mistake.
Watch It.

Review
Kelvin Harrison Jr. does an amazing job as Luce. He seems like an outstanding student and athlete, but he almost seems too perfect. I wasn't sure if that was foreshadowing or just a fallacy of the movie. With the synopsis I began to wonder what the big mystery would be. This really teases it out, spinning a lot of questions All the while I can't help but think something feels fake about Luce.

Kelvin Harrison Jr. plays Luce

What stars the plot is Luce writing in the voice of political radical Frantz Fanon for an assignment. His teacher Ms. Wilson (Octavia Spencer) uses that as a means to search his locker, but it's what she does with the findings that upsets Luce. As Luce states, the teacher is making Luce a victim of tokenism and another student a victory of stereotyping.

This movie works backwards a few scenes at a time. We get a result and the context later. Trauma never quite leaves. Luce's power shapes how people see him. Ms. Wilson sees him as an example for black students to follow. Luce overcame being a child soldier to become a model student. The other side of that is the teacher concerned when a paper he wrote discusses violent viewpoints.The teacher wants Luce to remain a role model, giving him a second chance she hasn't given other students she didn't see as a role model. It's breaks both ways. He gets a benefit for rising above, but a critical eye as well.

Luce has an answer for everything, but it seems like he's making some threats. There's plenty his parents didn't know about him. He seems to be trying to get back at this teacher, but Ms. Wilson isn't all good either. It soon seems she has a vendetta against Luce. We never quite who is in the right and who is plotting. Does Luce have everyone fooled?

Tim Roth, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Naomi Watts play Peter, Lucy, Amy

The movie comes down to how the past and stereotyping affects people. That's packaged in a twisting tale where we we think we know is altered in each proceeding scene. I really began to wonder if Luce just found a way to blend in. Even still, it's difficult to be certain. The movie is complicated as are the themes.

 If this were a cheesier movie, you'd begin to wonder how much of the plot Luce masterminded. It takes some movie logic leaps, but others movies have attempted greater leaps. At the least Luce setup Ms. Wilson to make it look like she has a vendetta against him, looking foolish in the process.

This was much better than I expected, and Harrison was amazing in a movie that has a lot of great actors.