Luce

— “Luce” is a psychological thriller that’s not as tautly held as the best of its genre, but it manages to raise questions that stick in your mind after you’ve left the theater. Luce is a model student who was adopted at age 7 by parents who helped him deal with the trauma of early life in Eritrea. When he’s asked in one class to write a paper in the voice of an historical figure, he turns in an essay from Frantz Fanon’s perspective, saying violence is sometimes necessary in a struggle for catharsis. Something about the tone alarms his teacher and, at that point, the stage is set for a tale where the audience is never quite sure where Luce falls on the psychopathy spectrum if, indeed, he’s on it at all. His teacher tries to figure it out but, thanks to a series of events, comes off as increasingly unhinged and aggressive herself. Even Luce’s liberal parents find themselves uncertain of his true psyche. In the end, his mother faces an ethical and moral dilemma with no “right” course of action to take. Questions of motives aren’t adequately answered and the issue of whether our backgrounds should affect the leeway given us for transgressions is raised but inadequately explored. It’s an interesting film but somehow missing something to keep it from seeming a bit too contrived.

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[2019. 109 min. Directed by Julius Onah. Starring Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Tim Roth, and Kelvin Harrison, Jr.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/luce-2019