Luce, a black kid adopted from war-torn Eritrea by a white couple, becomes an excellent school student and a political statement, but a series of obscure and ostensibly unrelated events gradually reveal everyone’s true colours.
I think that IMDb got it wrong here. They put ‘Drama’ under the title when they should have described it as ‘Thriller/Drama’. Let me explain… What’s at stake in Luce is the portrayal of the American educational system as a business. The selective promotion of an ethnic minority’s minority to the outside world solely benefits the system, labelling this person or group as a brand and making them the poster child of what the system allegedly represents. That hypocritical notion is Luce‘s dramatic aspect. But this notion is wrapped by its thrilling development – by J.C. Lee – into a script. Character-wise, everyone – but one – is guilty. Everyone throughout the film reveals or becomes obvious that he has lied at least once or has been withholding crucial information about the story. Something that Julius Onah’s directing and Madeleine Gavin’s editing unfold very meticulously. The music carefully dictates the film’s tone, adding the eerie atmosphere of an A-class thriller. DOP Larkin Seiple with surgical precision frames everything, including only what you need to see – and not what you would like to. Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Octavia Spencer, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. shine in front of the lens, creating amazing chemistry and making you love them and then loathe them, even love them and loathe them simultaneously. But… the (not guilty) one holding no punches whatsoever and stealing the spotlight is none other than Marsha Stephanie Blake. Hair-raising performance!
For better or for worse, my role is to do film reviews/evaluations and not politics, even though most of the time, I can’t help myself. Watch it and jump to your own conclusions regarding what is wrong with the US educational system, one of America’s most sore points. Interesting is also the subplot: the fear of expression due to the pushed and rushed political correction imposed nowadays and the questionable movements all around the world that aim to skin you alive if you dare to offend anyone – even unintentionally.
Don’t miss this one out. Don’t let it go under the radar.
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Solidarity for all the innocent lives who suffer the atrocities of war!
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