Luce tells the story of an adopted child from war-ripped Eritrea, who is now an all-star accomplished multi-hyphenate high school student. Meanwhile, Luce practices another speech he is preparing to give. Some students film the incident on their phones until Towson orders them to hand their phones over. Luce later goes out for a run and ends up going to Orlicki’s house for a moment. He knows Harriet is behind this. Luce says he doesn’t want to be a symbol, but that’s all he is here because the film is too gutless to commit to a position. An all-star high school athlete and accomplished debater, Luce (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) is a poster boy for the new American Dream. Later, while Luce cleans up in the kitchen, he finds his paper and the fireworks in the cabinet where Amy hid them. Luce’s former life as an agent of forced violence gets dredged up by his teacher, Harriet Wilson (Octavia Spencer, who also serves as a producer). Torment starts with Cam and Daniel killing a human on a beach. Luce says that she typically singles out some students, including himself, to make a point. Chain of Iron is a Shadowhunters novel. Harriet meets with Towson and is told she is fired due to heavy suspicion against her. Cordelia Carstairs seems to have … Stephanie tells Amy about what happened, and then goes to Harriet with an accusation that Luce assaulted her. In one of the film’s rare moments of honesty, Peter implies that he would rather have adopted a kid with less baggage and therefore less performative wokeness value. In Luce’s case, he is Harriet’s shining example of a star black student, which is not how he wants to be seen. Use the Search Bar or "Tag Cloud" below to find an interesting spoiler! Luce is buffeted by winds that whip him whenever he refuses to conform to the expectations his family, friends, school, and adopted country set for … Amy seems to just want to pretend everything is fine. as Rosemary Wilson, The Story of Who We Are: Gregory Nava Helps Celebrate Selena’s 50th Birthday, Thumbnails Special Edition: Gregory Nava's Selena, The Brilliance is in the Details of HBO’s Riveting Mare of Easttown. Luce is so beloved by his school that he’s giving speeches to the entire school on a regular basis! When this is brought to the principal, Harriet and the Edgars meet to discuss this, plus the potential of Luce vandalizing Harriet's home and harrassing her mentally unwell sister, but Luce has an alibi for his whereabouts. However, he has animosity toward his history teacher, Harriet Wilson, who got his friend DeShaun kicked off the running team after finding marijuana in his locker and calling the police. Peter tries dropping hints about whatever Luce has done, though he doesn’t know what Peter is talking about. Amy gets a call at work from Harriet asking her to meet at school. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here. She is also the eighth boss of the Giglio Nero Famiglia. I can live with that. And Luce’s Asian American girlfriend (Andrea Bang) is involved in a sexual assault in which it’s unclear whether Luce is complicit or chivalrous. He finds her on Facebook and sees that she has a sister. On this very site, Roger Ebert tried to understand why Mamet’s film version didn’t instill in him the same reaction as the play. He’s an accomplished debater. She is clearly not happy to see him, but he comes forward to her with how she ruined DeShaun’s athletic career and how she put Luce on a pedestal. Edit. When a teacher makes an alarming discovery about Luce, an all-star high school student, Luce's parents are forced to reckon with their idealized image of their son, adopted years ago … You can also read the synopsis below – spoilers for Chain of Gold ahead! Wilson’s bombshell discovery, pardon the pun, causes a rift in the Edgars’ marriage. Lucie (Jessie Pham), who has been missing for over a year, is found hysterical by the side of the road. When Amy asks if Luce was involved in the game, Stephanie insists that Luce wouldn’t do that. Read critic reviews. He credits the teachers and parents for his success. The topic required taking a controversial position on a subject. After all, Luce proudly explains that his parents changed his African name because they couldn’t pronounce it. Because if a film is going to toy with the audience, it should at least give them an incentive for having played along, no matter how absurd that reward may be. Luce’s former life as an agent of forced violence gets dredged up by his teacher, Harriet Wilson (Octavia Spencer, who also serves as a producer). Summaries. Sylvia Fowler and Edith Potter discover this from a manicurist and arrange for Mary to hear the gossip. The three of them go to the school to meet with Harriet and Towson. Born in war-torn Eritrea and adopted in the United States, Luce Edgar is an all-star high school athlete and accomplished public speaker who is adored by other school students and his adoptive parents, Peter and Amy Edgar. When asked about it, Luce suggests to his parents that Harriet has a habit of stereotyping or singling out students like him to make a point. He runs the blogs Big Media Vandalism and Tales of Odienary Madness. On the drive home, the family talks about Harriet, with Amy noting her stern demeanor, which Peter and Luce agree means that Harriet is a bitch. “Luce” feels greatly influenced by David Mamet’s controversial play, “Oleanna” which, like all of Mamet’s work, was more effective live. There are centuries of damning history in that action alone. He finds her on Facebook and sees that … Spoilers. Luce brings a stellar ensemble to bear on a satisfyingly complex story that addresses its timely themes in thought-provoking fashion. He explains that the guys on his track team share lockers, so the fireworks do not belong to him. Later, while Luce cleans up in the kitchen, he finds his paper and the fireworks in the cabinet where Amy hid them. Marsha Stephanie Blake Amy (Naomi Watts) and Peter (Tim Roth) are a middle-class couple, who adopted their son Luce (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) from war-torn Eritrea when he was just seven years old. He is drinking, possibly drunk, but not violent. She orders him out of her house. The assignment is just asking for trouble, … He tells everyone that he is lucky to have Amy and Peter as his parents. Regarding Luce, their parental dynamic mirrors the couple in Larry Cohen’s killer infant movie, “It’s Alive”—she refuses to think her kid might be evil even in the face of what may be incontrovertible proof; he is more than willing to take incriminating details at face value. )” Of course, the filmmakers absolve themselves of the crime of being complicit in leading the conversation toward the conclusions they’re tsk-tsking. She calls the Edgars in for a parent-teacher conference regarding a paper she assigned the class. They talk about the situation with Corey and Stephanie, as well as Orlicki making a comment that Luce and DeShaun are two different types of black men. Luce/Synopsis < Luce. Luce goes to visit Harriet at her house. The constant manipulations make “Luce” profoundly dissatisfying both as a thriller and as social commentary. Harriet defends her position, but Luce thinks all she did was stereotype them. #Luce is one of the most unique films this year. Production. He introduces himself to Rosemary and is charming toward her, though Harriet is visibly uncomfortable with him talking to her. Synopsis. And this film has a lot to toss at you. for language throughout, sexual content, nudity and some drug use. Since Wilson has apparently never seen a crime show before, she gives her evidence to the people who have very good reason to destroy it, and by extension, all her credibility. Luce Storyline. And a straight A student. They then notice DeShaun smoking a joint outside, and they mention how Harriet got DeShaun kicked off the team. Later that night, after the school is seemingly empty, a bunch of fireworks go off in Harriet’s classroom, causing a major fire. This is aggravating, because in order for me to tell you why I think “Luce” is lackluster, I’d have to reveal too much information. It is about May of 1948 in a small northern Florida town. He is the proud son of Amy and Peter Edgar (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth, respectively), two White parents who pulled him from a war-torn African country where he was conscripted to be a child soldier. Unfortunately, “Luce” can’t focus solely on the Edgars’ intentions because it has a truckload of other hot-button issues to dump on the viewer, all of them presented in a half-assed fashion that the film thinks is thought-provoking. This adds Faith to the suspect list. Synopsis. Like the abysmal “Crash,” “Luce” is one of those “we need to talk about race movies” where the “we” in question are smugly scolded by the film for falling into the stacked deck-style trap the narrative attempts to set. Peter tries dropping hints about whatever Luce has done, though he doesn’t know what Peter is talking about. Luce gives his speech at school. Stephanie may have been sexually assaulted by jock friends of Luce before he saved her, and Wilson uses her in class as an #MeToo example. She goes through her home and finds a horrible slur sprayed on her window. The two meet in a coffee shop so that Amy can find out what is going on between them and Harriet. She tells Amy that she and Luce used to date, which Amy did not know about. Despite this, Amy chooses to keep acting like she has a perfect son, while Peter knows better. The meeting is done. I’m going to keep this one short. Plot Explanation. When Harriet brings up the fireworks to Amy, Amy lies and says that she knows nothing about the fireworks, even telling Towson that Harriet deliberately went after her. Harriet is tending to her sister Rosemary (Marsha Stephanie Blake), who suffers from some kind of personality disorder. She shows Amy a paper that Luce wrote for an assignment in which the class was asked to write as a famous historical figure. The film concludes with Luce going out for another run, looking more frantic as he runs faster. We cut to the auditorium where star student and athlete Luce Edgar (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) is delivering a speech to his classmates, the staff, and all parents. As this is a rushed post of the plot, there may be a few missed details or inaccuracies. Odie "Odienator" Henderson has spent over 33 years working in Information Technology. Luce shrugs it off, explaining that the guys on the football team share lockers, and it wasn’t his stuff. Peter thinks Luce is lying to them, while Amy is not sure what to believe. After learning of the incident, Amy runs home to find the fireworks, only to discover in horror that they are gone. Luce is, by all accounts, a model, straight-A student in his Arlington, Va., high school: star athlete, debate team captain, loyal friend, and so on. Later that night, Harriet finds her home trashed and vandalized, and Rosemary is sitting down after suffering an episode. Spencer earns a huge laugh when she responds to Luce’s assertion that he’s never been called the N-word. He knows Harriet is behind this. Amy realizes with horror that the two of them most likely conspired to bring Harriet down. DeShaun angrily walks out after class, with Luce trying to follow him, but he gets ignored. In Harriet’s class, the lesson involves race laws of the mid 20th century. *SPOILER REQUEST* Amy confronts Luce about what he may have done to Stephanie. Luce goes home to an apologetic Amy, who defends Harriet’s actions as just looking out for Luce. Did I mention that Harriet has a mentally ill She loses her job, and Amy catches Luce and Stephanie together having sex, which strongly implies they were working together to bring Harriet down since she stereotyped both of them. Avery confronts Connor, who admits to having seen Faith at the party and having told her to leave. Rosemary is at the school having another episode, frantically yelling for Harriet until she starts to take off all her clothes. Wilson is a stern taskmaster who takes no guff in her class. Harriet doesn’t hold back with her accusations against Luce, especially when asked about where Luce was the night before. To make matters worse, Harriet takes out a bag of fireworks that she says she found in Luce’s locker. “Luce” is the worst kind of provocateur; it tosses out all manner of outrageous ideas and then, like those pathetic dudes on Twitter, it yells out “DEBATE ME!” As soon as you accept the challenge, the film folds like cheap origami. Two married couples were forced to believe the idealized image of their son, who has adopted from a war-torn Eritrea after discovery an alarm from a devoted high school teacher, who threatens his status as an all-star student. Daniel tells Cam how Gabbe, one of their angel cohorts, has set Luce up to be cared for by Francesca, the person who is closets to Gabbe, as she works at a school. Stephanie brings up the party incident – she was drunk and got roped into playing a disturbingly sexist game with other guys where they would pass her and other girls around on their laps, and she would occasionally feel their erections brushing up against her. His teacher, Harriet Wilson, brings to attention a disturbing paper that Luce wrote in the voice of Frantz Fanon, who argued that colonialism could be overcome through violence. Harriet then thinks that Luce sent Stephanie to her house to tell her about the accusation. As Luce was adopted from Eritrea when he lived most of his life as a child soldier, Harriet thinks this is a red flag, and that someone like Luce (ie, a young black man) writing this could get him in serious trouble. When Luce’s teacher (Octavia Spencer) makes a shocking discovery in his locker, Luce… It’s drama styled film, but it’s really a thriller in a drama-esque … Warning: You may lose the entire afternoon reading old spoilers! She leads police to the derelict slaughterhouse where evidence suggests she was held captive. AMC THEATERS - LOEWS CINEPLEX - REGAL CINEMAS - CENTURY THEATERS. When Amy returns home to the spot where she hid the fireworks, Luce returns with a paper bag. In Luce, Luce Edgar (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) is the shining star of his high school. After the debate, Luce talks to Corey about smoothing things over with Stephanie, who is involved in whatever Corey and Orlicki were arguing about. Though uncomfortable discussing, Amy convinces Stephanie to tell her story. In Luce’s case, he is Harriet’s shining example of a star black student, which is not how he wants to be seen. The Edgars go home. Luce writes about Frantz Fanon, whose ideas about “necessary violence” lead Wilson to think Luce is planning some sort of violent retribution toward the school. He acknowledges his wording but defends his stance that he just did what the assignment asked. Luce ends up playing less like a movie than it does a first-year law school lecture class. In this video, Zach Pope gives his review on Luce a brand new INDIE film that might just be a must-see one! He’s an athlete. This leads to Wilson exercising some obscure school rule that allows her to search Luce’s locker. At such a young age, Luce saw and absorbed things most people should never see, but Amy and Peter were determined to provide a safe home filled with love and trust for him. He points out how Luce didn’t get in trouble for it despite smoking as well, because he knows that Luce is like a token for the school. As far as Harriet is concerned, Stephanie mentions Harriet talking about her, as well as her searching DeShaun’s locker. Luce picked Frantz Fanon, who argued that colonialism can be overcome through means of violence. Stephanie sees Amy outside the window but doesn’t react. Peter believes Luce was involved, but Amy desperately wants to believe it’s not true, maintaining her stance with her son. The two go grocery shopping, and they run into Luce. “You need to check your (fill in the blank: racism, sexism, privilege, Black paranoia, etc. He says he was with friends and has a video on his phone to prove it, although he was hesitant to show since he and his friends are shown smoking weed. Luce turns in a charged manifesto in the voice of Frantz Fanon, a writer who believed colonialism could only be overcome through violence. Outside, Amy follows Luce to a hideout where he meets with Stephanie to have sex with her. Luce and his parents watch the incident on video at home and are mortified by the way Rosemary was treated. He and Amy confront Luce about the comment he made, plus the fireworks being in his locker. Luce gets a phone message from Stephanie, who says she wishes they could talk like they used to, but since Harriet referred to her as an example of “a woman suffering in silence”, the two agree to take a break. When the police arrive, he is peacefully arrested. As the film opens, Lucas Jackson (Paul Newman) is using a pipe cutter to cut the tops off of parking meters. Luce, a 2013 play by JC Lee and now a film by the Nigerian-American Julius Onah, seeks to do all of the above. It’s nothing but questionable noise, most notably in the guise of Stephanie Kim (Andrea Bang). Amy gets in touch with Stephanie after hearing about her. During the debate, Luce speaks directly to Harriet, almost as if he is confronting her by bringing up cases about students who were charged with crimes based on the suspicions of the teachers that caught them, and whether or not those teachers should have respected their students’ privacy. It implies that women who say they have been raped are possibly liars with a hidden agenda; it implies that White parents adopting Black children are doing so out of guilt or the desire to be seen as woke; it implies that said Black children may be harboring a dangerous penchant for violence under the façade of being “one of the good ones.” And it does absolutely nothing useful with any of this besides shoehorning these elements into the thriller genre. — David Rush. The reason being the ending is up for speculation. Perhaps this material worked better onstage where it originated. JC Lee's probing play about a suspicious teenager addresses issues of privilege, race, and trust. Inside, she finds fireworks, which she sees as proof of Luce’s intentions. She calls the Edgars in for a parent-teacher conference regarding a paper she assigned the class. A locker is opened, and a brown paper bag with undisclosed contents is placed inside. As are his parents (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth), who adopted him from a war-torn country a decade earlier. Overview; Synopsis: Relationships: Gallery: History [edit | edit source] She is the mother of Aria and the grandmother of Uni. Amy goes home to Peter, and they talk about Luce again. Summaries. Harriet takes this to Towson, and Amy and Peter are informed about it. Luce apparently told the guys to stop and he stayed with her. Also, the film has two parts to it. The assignment is just asking for trouble, because a student as good as Luce is going to write one helluva convincing paper. At school in the locker room, Luce catches his friend Corey Johnson (Omar Brunson) getting into a fight with another teammate, Kenny Orlicki (Noah Gaynor), over Orlicki supposedly telling people about something they all did. Certain to be one of the most talked-about films of the year, LUCE is a smart psychological thriller that will leave audiences breathless. Afterwards, he is commended for his speech. In addition to looking old enough to be a teacher, Luce is the school’s star pupil, excelling in both sports and academia. Luce is an ambitious concept — it’s no easy feat to thread the needle on a plot that takes place at the intersection of race, class, sexual assault, and mental health. Harriet and Principal Dan Towson (Norbert Leo Butz) arrive for a debate practice where Luce is acting as the prosecutor. Harriet does what she can to calm her down, but Rosemary is taken into custody by police and is tased, even as Harriet pleads with them to cover her up. That’s as ludicrous as the rest of this movie. Wilson is a stern taskmaster who takes no guff in her class. Luce is a Thriller Drama Film that came out in August of 2019 and is the next film in my "Movies I Missed Series." Rated R Advertisement. “You shouldn’t have trusted me!” laughs the film. They express their concern for Luce, Daniel's mortal girlfriend and Cam's love interest. Stephanie’s connection to the plot is one of those aforementioned spoilers, but I’ll say it’s as big a problem as a separate subplot whose sole purpose is to brutally humiliate a woman with mental issues for no reason outside of shock value. — Production. Harriet is giving a lesson when she is called by Towson to go outside. Amy brings up Luce’s paper and the bag of fireworks (which she took home) to Peter, but they hope that Luce will be mature enough to come forward with this. Harriet is alone at home. A study of the lives and romantic entanglements of various interconnected women. Here’s the film Martyrs explained, spoilers ahead. But when Luce and his history teacher clash, the escalation has incredible repercussions for both of them. Luce meets with Harriet in her classroom over the issue of his paper. A full caveat, I am not a film critic, and classify myself more of a casual movie goer who sees a new movie once a month. After the fight is broken up, Corey warns Luce that the situation involves him as well. There is no clarity presented by the film and that is done on purpose. The topic required taking a controversial position on a subject. There’s a bit of that here, but it’s presented in a late scene between the two that is muddled and confusing rather than illuminating. She also went through his locker and found fireworks in there. Luce's scenes with Harriet, brimming with subtext, are thrilling to watch. Although there is no evidence of sexual abuse, Lucie bears the signs of repeated injury and neglect. 'Luce': Release date, plot, cast, trailer and everything you need to know about the mystery drama on prejudice and racism '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', reads the synopsis I mean, I’ll never forget the magic racism-curing staircase of Paul Haggis’ misguided Oscar (and NAACP-award) winning Best Picture. She notices one student, DeShaun Meeks (Brian Bradley), on his phone during the lesson, and not only does she call him out, but she comments how this subject is “life or death” for someone like him. His adoptive parents Amy (Naomi Watts) and Peter (Tim Roth) meet his teacher, Ms. Harriet Wilson (Octavia Spencer), who calls Luce “an important example to the school”. Inside is a goldfish that he wants to keep as a pet. Stephanie arrives at her house to suggest to her that Luce sexually assaulted her. When “Luce” toys with the idea that Amy has a Great White Savior complex, and that it might literally blow up in her face if her ward is a true monster, the film offers the mild bemusement that accompanies schadenfreude. Now that you've had a chance to watch Marvel's latest Netflix series, join us for our Luke Cage spoiler review, where we break the show down. Throughout the film, Luce remains a cipher and Harrison’s performance suffers as a result. “Luce’ takes place at a high school deeply enamored with a Black student named Luce (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). According to Rotten Tomatoes, this review is at odds with a consensus of mostly White writers and a few of my fellow voices of color as well. So here’s what I can tell you. His … Help keep the spoilers up to date by sending your submissions here. At best, this is dirty pool. Spoilers. At the school car wash, DeShaun gets in trouble for being there until Luce intervenes, saying he invited DeShaun. He mentions how he was renamed after being adopted, and his parents picked “Luce” because it means “light”. Harriet's classroom catches fire after fireworks go off in there. Luce reveals that the fight she witnessed at the Plus-One party was between Parker and Faith. The synopsis below may give away important plot points. For instance, one classmate, Stephanie Kim (Andrea Bang), was alleged to have been sexually abused at a party while drunk, and Harriet often uses Stephanie as an example of a victimized woman. “Crash” is more memorable than this. You might also like. Your guide to the latest plot twists and surprise endings, now playing at a theater near you! So much is being made about how Nigerian director Julius Onah and his co-screenwriter J.C. Lee are supposedly focusing on the unfair ways Black people are held to unrealistic standards, but this Black person didn’t see enough of that. The two talk about how Harriet got DeShaun kicked off the team after she found weed in his locker. He later hears from Stephanie that she met with his mom, and she says they need to talk. Before leaving, Luce asks Harriet what her favorite holiday is, and he says he loves Independence Day because of what it stood for, but when he brings up fireworks and makes an explosion gesture, Harriet takes it as a threat and informs Peter about it. This scene ends with Cam and Daniel finding a starshot, a special arrow made for killing angels and demons, and the k… After years of briefly mentioned therapy, Luce has become a productive member of American society. Synopsis. During dinner, the family brings up Harriet again. She also adds that she misses Luce and that he was the best boyfriend she ever had. That’s right. 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. At worst, it intensifies and reinforces the stereotypes it claims to be against. In addition to that splash of “Crash,” we now have a soupçon of “Beasts of No Nation.”. The synopsis below may give away important plot points. Since this is a “thriller,” I’m beholden to the rules of spoilers. The Shadowhunters must catch a killer in Edwardian London in this dangerous and romantic sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling novel Chain of Gold, from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Cassandra Clare. Opening scene, you see the planet of Jakku, along with tie fighters from the first order. He insists that he loves his son but cannot ignore the fact that he is hiding something. Luce Edgar is a track star and model student who was adopted from war-torn Eritrea as a child soldier by Amy and Peter. SPOILERS BELOW. I haven’t seen “Luce” in its stage incarnation, but I can easily imagine a clever two-hander between Luce and Harriet Wilson, two Black people with different ideas about how America sees them, and how their birth origins shape their perceptions. The two tearfully hug. Edit source History Talk (0) Share. Luce follows the unique track of a former child soldier from Eretria who was adopted by a pair of affluent white individuals and raised to overcome his trauma. They had been in a secret relationship, and Parker had broken things off with Faith, prompting her to angrily break the window. Amy learns that Luce was at a party where his ex-girlfriend Stephanie Kim was allegedly harrassed, with Luce's friends and teammates worrying that information about them could get out. Wealthy Mary Haines is unaware her husband is having an affair with shopgirl Crystal Allen. The film opens with a shot of a crowded hallway in a high school.