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Title: Luce (2019)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Naomi Watts | ... | Amy Edgar | |
| Octavia Spencer | ... | Harriet Wilson | |
| Kelvin Harrison Jr. | ... | Luce Edgar | |
| Tim Roth | ... | Peter Edgar | |
| Norbert Leo Butz | ... | Principal Dan | |
| Andrea Bang | ... | Stephanie Kim | |
| Marsha Stephanie Blake | ... | Rosemary | |
| Astro | ... | Deshaun Meeks | |
| Omar Shariff Brunson Jr. | ... | Corey Johnson (as Omar Brunson) | |
| Noah Gaynor | ... | Kenny Orlicki | |
| Christopher Mann | ... | Coach Reeves | |
| Hannah Cabell | ... | Lena Tennyson | |
| Colton Osorio | ... | Little Boy | |
| Gibson Frazier | ... | Man | |
| Ian Unterman | ... | Other Man | |
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.
The collective performance of this ensemble is something else.
SYNOPSIS: Luce (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) is your ideal son/student/role model. Star of the track team and the student you expect to make the commencement speech for his college graduation. However, with a tension forming between Luce and his teacher Ms. Wilson (Octavia Spencer) things begin to get stranger as you're forced to question whether Luce's intentions are pure or cynical.
DIRECTION: Julius Onah captures an atmosphere that just about suffocates you with suspicion and tension. Onah really makes you feel a few of his scenes due to angles and positions that manipulates your thoughts the same way Harrison Jr. does with his performance. Not the most unique direction, but good enough to elevate the film.
WRITING: What's so hard about reviewing this film is I can't tell what it was that really affected me whether it was the Directing, Writing, Acting or all of the above. This film itself is a manipulation. I think a large part of this is due to the writing. It's so precise and at times maybe too precise where it can be unbelievable at times.
ACTING: Kelvin Harrison Jr.. I could leave this at that, which is crazy because the rest of the ensemble was SO good. What the fluff is going on with these performances not getting any Oscar buzz? Just because you expect damn near perfect performances from a Naomi Watts and Tim Roth means they don't deserve to be talked about? Honestly, I'll chalk this up to poor marketing. This might be the least marketed film of the year with star power like that. I only knew of this film due to one trailer I saw from a film way back. Anyway, if I had my choice of Kelvin "The Ultimate Manipulator" Harrison Jr. being nominated for Best Actor, he would be right behind Adam Driver. Some short, but affective performances from Andrea Bang and Holy shift it's Astro from the US edition of The X Factor.
CONCLUSION: This is a really well made film from Julius Onah and incredible performances from the entire ensemble. Wasn't enough to get 4/5 stars just because it didn't reach a level I really saw this film having the potential to reach. If you're looking for strong acting and tense dialogue this is a perfect fit for you.