Luce

Who are you? What are you? Are you you because of your parents? Are you a product of your environment? Nature vs nurture? Are people turned bad or are some people just fuckers? A question for the ages.

Luce (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) is the star pupil in his Virginia high school. He's one of those annoying people who's just good at everything he puts his hands to, both sporting and academic. Everyone likes him and his teachers adore him. He's being groomed to be the face of the school. But Luce has a dark past. He lived in war torn Eritrea until he was 7. He was once a child soldier there until a pair of white saviours by the name of Amy & Peter Edgar (Naomi Watts & Tim Roth, playing a couple again after 2008's Funny Games) saved him from a life of misery and turned him into the true blue American he is today. They did a mighty job, they love him and he loves them back. Life is fine. Until the day his history teacher Mrs Wilson (Octavia Spencer) reads an essay he wrote.....

The titular character of this film is played by Kelvin Harrison Jr. It's a star making role. His Luce is a multi layered and many faceted creation. On the surface he's sincerity personified but underneath he's impossible to get a read on. Everything he says, everything he does can be read in a multitude of ways and Harrison Jr nails that squirmy ambiguity perfectly. He's a man struggling to contain all manner of inner turmoil. Too white acting for his peers, too black acting for the establishment, trying to forget a past everyone expects to re-emerge, trying to live up to expectations while  avoiding stereotyping. It's great stuff from him and he's easily the best thing about the film.

But saying that, Luce isn't a bad film at all. It's just unfocused and tries to hit too many targets at once. The hot button issues of the day are flying here and at times it feels like a particularly hectic twitter timeline. Race, privilege, sexism, mental health and others all get their day in the sun but as a result nearly all are touched on approximately rather than in an exact manner. The film's messy approach means it takes until almost the final stretch of the film before things become clear and when they do it's more of an 'oh' than an 'OH!!!'.

It's a pity because the cast is fantastic. Harris Jr of course. Naomi Watts as a mother torn between troubling truths and her maternal instincts, seemingly fragile but shades of Lady Macbeth abound. Tim Roth as a father who wishes he hadn't let his need to make a big political statement rule over his paternal urges. Drink is an issue and you get the sense that he's not the cool, calm and collected image he projects. Octavia Spencer as Harriet does mighty work too. Someone just trying their best but beset on all sides by hardship. The look of disbelief on her face as literally everything goes wrong for her makes you remember why she got that oscar a few years back. Everyone bar none does well here and that is why this is worth watching.

Luce is a low key drama/thriller of the like that's rarely made anymore. It's scattershot approach does weaken it but splendid acting makes it worth your while. In selected cinemas from today.