Formula:
Black Swan - Darren Aronofski
Vox Lux is
a character study of an artist. The international pop star Celeste rose to
success from tragedy and has lived a unique an challenging life. The film
begins when she is 14, played by Raffey Cassidy, and gets her first corrupting
taste of success. It jumps to 2017. Celeste, now played by Natalie Portman, is
about to begin a comeback tour after a few especially rough years.
The word that kept coming to me as I watched this
was 'insidious'. It felt at all times like something bad was about to happen.
Occasionally something bad did happen. Most of the time, nothing did. Either
way, Scott Walker's music never let me feel settled. Perhaps playing on Natalie
Portman's history being in Black Swan, I kept waiting for a shift into
the surreal that never happened.
I can see why Portman wanted this role. It's big and
brash. She gets to put on a think New York accent and play a range of emotions.
If someone loves this movie, it's because they love Portman in it. She is very
good, but it was all a little too big for me. The rest of the cast wasn't
nearly as good. Raffey Cassidy is stuck with a wandering accent when she's
playing a young Celeste. She also plays Celeste's daughter, Albertine, in the
Natalie Portman part of the film. Both young Celeste and Albertine are very
reactive roles that I don't think played to Cassidy's strengths. I still
remember her in
Tomorrowland in
which she was wonderful as a driving force. Jude Law tries to give some life to
his character, Celeste's long-time manager, but there isn't much to the role.
I wasn't crazy about Willem Defoe's narration.
Narration is tricky. I'm not outright against it in movies. The other day, I
watched First Reformed, in which the narration was vital to the story,
and I really liked it. Dafoe's narration in Vox Lux just struck me as
more easy than essential. It's not in communication with the film often enough
to justify its existence. It's more of a way to let the film cover a larger
period of time than something that improve the movie.
Vox Lux is
fine. It goes as far as Natalie Portman takes it. I feel like I could've
watched the "Leave Britney alone" video
for the same effect though. I'm not sure what its message about celebrity is.
It's not a cautionary tale. It isn't a justification of the lifestyle. It isn't
an honest portrayal either. It's just a character that's given a movie.
Movie Theater LVP (Least Valuable Patron): Vox Lux is
not a funny movie. Maybe there's room for a light chuckle here or there, but
that's it. There was a middle-aged guy who was laughing his ass off at really inappropriate times. I'm all for someone having a better time than everyone
else - I still fondly remember the guy who loved The Last Stand
more than anyone - but there's a certain point when it's just creepy. (Side
Note: I very scared I'll become this guy someday.)
Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend
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