Vox Lux (2018)

Review

114min

Genre:       Drama, Music

Director:    Brady Corbet

Cast:         Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Raffey Cassidy…and more

Writers:     Brady Corbet

-Synopsis-

Formed by tragedy and coming-of-age in extreme circumstances, a New York teenager’s unconventional rise to stardom sees her propelled to the ranks of pop superstar at the turn of this century, as she struggles to remain relevant in a rapidly changing world and tries to keep her dysfunctional family and erratic life together, while her struggles reflect the society and events unfolding around her . . . which will define the culture of our time.

Having impressively transitioned from acting into fully-fledged filmmaking with his period film meditation on the makings of a hypothetical dictator in 2016’s ‘The Childhood of a Leader’, Arizonan Brady Corbet reinforces his fascination with what makes us tick and the trauma which defines us with his second film—a contemporary 21st century portrait of a celebrated, infamous and troubled young soul . . . and the even more troubled culture which nurtured her.

Raffey Cassidy stars as Staten Island teen ‘Celeste’, whose adolescence is forcibly accelerated by a fateful tragic school day, setting in motion an unlikely pop career and a fast-tracked coming-of-age alongside her older sister ‘Eleanor’ (Stacy Martin) and her blunt crafty manager (Jude Law). Now a mother of a teen herself—and having lived fifteen years of major success and excess—a thirty-something Celeste (Natalie Portman) struggles with media scrutiny and public judgement while trying to re-connect to her daughter and estranged sister in the lead-up to a big homecoming concert, as the world ignites around her and she remains haunted by the ghosts of the past.

Any avid moviegoer will be no stranger to seeing the making of a music star on the big screen, often following the path of most resistance and depicting the deep personal struggles which form their character, most recently seen in Bradley Cooper’s Oscar-winning remake ‘A Star Is Born’ and British country music dreams story ‘Wild Rose’. But rare is the occasion when a film of this kind is so deliberately timely, reflective of the society around it, and critical of the culture of our time—because ‘Vox Lux’ is as much a lament for the angry, extreme, morally bankrupt, celebrity obsessed culture of 21st century, post 9/11 America and the West, as it is a portrait of an artist.

Nevertheless this is still a character piece at heart, and it revolves around one central figure, while two stars share the burden of bringing her to life. Young but already experienced Raffey Cassidy (Tomorrowland, The Killing of a Sacred Deer) does a sterling job with the transition of an innocent Celeste to a worldly one under fire, and through emancipating formative experiences, while Natalie Portman seems to relish in arguably her most combative, fiery and flawed role, as the jaded older Celeste who owns her many mistakes and stands her ground against the world—all  while the unmistakable voice of Willem Defoe guides us through this unlikely and unsettling journey.

Both stars benefit from an array of self-empowering, power-pop songs written for the movie by Sia, with Portman also showcasing plenty of dance choreography in the film’s big concert finale, helping to create a character clearly inspired by the likes of Britney Spears and Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé.

With his feature debut Brady Corbet hinted at a stylistic penchant for blending subtle natural light photography with a dramatic, purposeful and occasionally jarring, atmosphere-setting score, and ‘Vox Lux’ confirms this predilection applies in any context, as he combines cinematography from Lol Crawley (Four Lions, The Childhood of a Leader) with a majorly atmospheric score from Scott Walker—Corbet’s second and final collaboration with the late, great singer-songwriter and composer.

Just like its protagonist though, ‘Vox Lux’ suffers from something of an identity crisis, never really settling on what it wants to be. As a nuanced character drama it only goes skin deep in terms of the traumatic psychology of a prodigious young soul, and its credentials as a portrait of an artist are slightly undermined by having her ‘art’ be purely commercial and rather monotonous power-pop, which quote “makes people feel good without having to think too hard”. But perhaps the film’s biggest dramatic limitation is the huge and sudden fifteen-year leap it takes into the present, missing out on the crucial and defining experiences which form an adult Celeste that the audience will barely recognise, and with whom we are only given one, albeit very busy day.

Meanwhile as a reflection of a decaying Western culture and a society in crisis, the film just about manages to convincingly draw parallels between Celeste’s life and the state of a nation in extreme and alarming flux, while only scratching the surface of the complexities of a wide-eyed society that’s lost its innocence, and is entrenched in a culture war—but it really overstretches with having her life reflect more global events . . . and indeed directly influence them.

Yet Corbet’s artistic flair, cinematic craftsmanship and impressive filmmaking nous manages to hold the narrative and the characters together admirably, inexorably connecting you to this young woman in her different stages of life—including her pop phoenix rise from the ashes of violence and tragedy—beyond just the morbid celebrity fascination the film tries to skewer. It also confronts the audience with eerily relatable gun violence and slipping societal standards, and an all-too familiar world where fame is the most powerful and coveted currency, leaving us with the uncomfortable but necessary contemplation about our culture and its attitude towards humanity and self-exploration—and where this might all go if we don’t find the common ground to pull back from the brink.

The Bottom Line…

Part power-pop portrait of a 21st century artist, part ‘state of the nation’ contemporary cultural drama, ‘Vox Lux’ paints a moody and timely picture of coming-of-age in the midst of tragedy and violence, while reflecting an increasingly detached and extreme American society, keeping you engrossed while forcing you to think beyond the superficial—and underlining Brady Corbet’s impressive transformation into fully-fledged filmmaker.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

A Star is Born (2018)

Bradley Cooper makes his directorial debut with a remake of a remake and stars as a troubled folk music star on a downward spiral, who finds a new lease on life when he falls for a talented aspiring singer-songwriter and helps to turn her into a star . . . at the expense of his own future.

Directed by Bradley Cooper and starring Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper and Sam Elliott among others.

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