Vox Lux(2018)

Vox Lux (2018) Neon

I saw Vox Lux on Friday and honestly, I needed a few days of it rolling around in my brain to determine how I really felt about it. This is the kind of movie that splits the crowd I think, but I'm part of the crowd that liked it. I really liked it.

Vox Lux is subtitled a 21st Century Portrait, (which I didn't know until after seeing it) is the tale of Celeste, a 14 year old who survives a school shooting and becomes a pop sensation. The film takes her from 14 in 2000 to 31 in 2017. It begins with that school shooting, then shows how young Celeste (Raffey Cassidy), even at 14, is all business, and wants to become a star. Jude Law shows up as a sort of sleazy manager who helps her navigate her way to the top while her sister (Stacy Martin) is along for the ride, writing her hits.

The second part gives us Natalie Portman as Celeste in 2017 and we see that the hard and fast lifestyle has done to her (a cautionary tale as old as time). Celeste cares only about Celeste. Her interactions with her daughter Albertine (also played by Cassidy) seem more like that of a bratty adult who can't let go of childhood. An adult who had he innocence taken away by the school shooting and by, well lets not get into the cautionary fame tale.

The finale is Celeste. Onstage, in an extravagant, big budget performance at a huge stadium. The lights. the lasers, the sparkly stuff. The entire film was worth it for me to get to that last sequence. Here is Celeste doing what she does. Giving her all on that stage, when minutes before we see her break down under the weight of her life. This is Celeste. This is who she was meant to be. Giving the people what they want. Right?

So, the movie begins with a school shooting, makes mention of September 11th, and then features more violence later in the film, all of which helps show how people today, especially those who have grown up in this era of school shootings, terrorist acts, 24 hour news cycles, and a constant stream of violence have become desensitized to it. You acknowledge it as a thing that happened then you move on and do the things you are supposed to be doing. Welcome to the 21st century. Here's your pop star.

The style and tone of this film reminded me of some of the work of Michael Haneke. Brady Corbet did star in the american version of Funny Games, after all. Black Swan also came to mind, but that might have been more to do with Natalie Portman's over-the-top performance. Her accent, her walk, her no bullshit (or all bullshit?) attitude as Celeste was a joy. But then again, over the top is my guilty pleasure.