178. Vox Lux; movie review
Cert 15
115 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong violence, language, drug misuse
Natalie Portman may be as small as Kylie Minogue but she has such huge screen presence I think we need to see more of her.
In Vox Lux, the energy she brings to her performance as a pop star is remarkable, both on and off stage.
Sadly, however, she cannot lift Vox Lux to the dazzling heights to which its makers seem to aspire.
That may be because we have seen the tainted singer genre too many times recently and it has been done better - most notably with A Star Is Born.
Brady Corbet's film alights upon Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) as a spirited 13-year-old who suffers trauma after a tragedy at her school.
Circumstances prompt her singing in front of many people and, subsequently, she is thrust into the limelight of celebrity.
Vox Lux examines the manipulation of the teenager by adults who see her as their future meal ticket.
Meanwhile, it poses questions about the positive and negative reaction of the children who are caught up in such an artificial world.
Cassidy continues to impress in her fledgeling career and here she is double the value, playing a young Celeste and her inseparable sister who writes her songs.
Meanwhile, Jude Law is a grubby manager who gives decent career advice but lacks the moral judgment which Celeste needs both in youth and when she is older.
Law carries off the role well but I was a tad mystified that his character doesn't appear to age when the plot moves forward 17 years.
Anyway, Vox Lux looks good, is decently constructed and has some fine contributions from its cast.
So, why didn't it grab me? As said, I have seen too many movies of its ilk - both in documentaries and features.
Indeed, once you have seen the Whitney biopic and other drug-fuelled singer stories are bound to come up short.
Reasons to avoid: Goes over similar ground to other tarnished pop star movies
Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10
Did you know? As a student, Natalie Portman co-authored two research papers that were published in scientific journals. Her 1998 high school paper, "A Simple Method to Demonstrate the Enzymatic Production of Hydrogen from Sugar", co-authored with scientists Ian Hurley and Jonathan Woodward, was entered in the Intel Science Talent Search.
The final word. Natalie Portman: "There’s no one inspiration. There’s not even a single pop star working right now that you could put your finger on. There are elements reminiscent of recurring tropes in pop stardom, the spiraling star who pulls it together, so you get shades from plenty of familiar stories. But these are archetypal. She’s not supposed to be a stand-in for anybody from the modern climate of pop music."
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