LUCE

Director: Julius Onah

109, R

Screenwriter: Julius Onah and JC Lee, based on the play by JC Lee.

Cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr, Octavia Spencer, Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Andrea Bang.

 

Luce (Kelvin Harrison Jr., the breakout star of It Comes at Night) is a high-achieving high school student/athlete, raised by ‘woke’ white parents (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) in an upper-class neighborhood. His former life as a child soldier in Eritrea seems light years away – until a teacher (the great Octavia Spencer) with high expectations for black students busts him for fireworks in his gym locker. This Off-Broadway play turned indie movie doesn’t serve up any easy answers on possible school shooters, on the bubble of entitlement, or most explosively, on race.

“It reminded me of early Mamet work although with a commentary on race he could never attempt. All of this, and it’s got one of the best ensemble performances of Sundance 2019.” Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com