# Luce (film)

Luce is a 2019 American social thriller drama film co-produced and directed by Julius Onah, who co-wrote the screenplay with JC Lee, based on the 2013 play of the same name by Lee. It stars Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Tim Roth. The film tells the story of a couple (Watts and Roth) forced to reconsider their marriage and their family after an extremely disturbing essay written by their adopted son (Harrison Jr.) is brought to their attention by his teacher (Spencer).
Principal photography took place in Roosevelt, New York and Los Angeles, California and the film was shot on 35mm film.
Luce had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2019, and was released in the United States on August 2, by Neon. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised the cast's performances, Onah's direction, the writing, and the film's themes. The film made over $2.3 million worldwide.
The film received multiple nominations from the various award organizations including the Black Reel Awards and various critics organizations, including the Hollywood Critics Association and the San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.

## Plot

Born in war-torn Eritrea and adopted in the United States by a progressive White family, Luce Edgar is an all-star high school athlete and accomplished public speaker who is adored by other students and his adoptive parents, Peter and Amy. However, he has animosity towards his history teacher, Harriet Wilson, who got his friend DeShaun kicked off the running team after finding marijuana in his locker.
Amy meets with Harriet, who shows her Luce has written a paper about political revolutionary Frantz Fanon, arguing that colonialism can be overcome through violence. Harriet is concerned. Harriet also reveals to Amy that she found a bag of illegal fireworks in Luce's locker.
Amy and Peter decide to not say anything to Luce, hiding the paper and fireworks. When asked about his teacher, Luce accuses Harriet of harmfully singling out students, such as using Stephanie Kim, a Korean-American classmate rumored to have been sexually abused, as an example of a victim suffering in silence. Luce is Harriet's shining example of a star Black student, but he argues that he does not want to be tokenized. Luce finds the hidden paper and fireworks.
Luce and Harriet discuss his paper to which he says he simply followed the prompt of the assignment, disavowing any true belief in violence. He makes a comment about fireworks that Harriet interprets as a threat, and she notifies Peter. He and Amy confront Luce. He explains that the track team shares lockers and the fireworks are not his. Peter thinks Luce is lying, but Amy is not sure and tries to maintain peace.
Harriet and her sister Rosemary, who suffers from an unspecified mental illness, have an encounter with Luce at a supermarket that unsettles Harriet.
Luce and Deshaun engage in a argument regarding Deshaun’s removal from the running team, resulting in a loss of potential scholarships. Deshaun criticizes Luce for the privileges he receives as being exalted as a star student, which Luce argues he does not want nor asked for. He promises DeShaun that he will make things right. Meanwhile, Amy and Stephanie meet at a coffee shop. Stephanie says that she used to date Luce, which Amy never knew, but they broke up. Stephanie describes being sexually assaulted at a party by several boys while under the influence of alcohol. Luce stopped them and comforted her after she awoke. Luce later learns from Stephanie about the visit.
Rosemary arrives at the school looking for Harriet and has a breakdown, stripping naked in front of a crowd of students before she is tasered and apprehended by police. The incident is recorded and posted on social media. Harriet's home is vandalized with racial slurs later that night, and Stephanie arrives shortly after to tell Harriet that Luce sexually assaulted her. Harriet informs Principal Towson, and a meeting is organized with Luce and his parents. Luce disproves Harriet's accusations with video evidence of his whereabouts, and Harriet's harsh questions quickly make Amy and Peter come to his defense. Harriet discovers that Stephanie has left before she could repeat her accusation to Towson. Towson lets Luce go, despite Harriet still arguing her side.
At night, exploding fireworks inside Harriet's desk cause a fire. Towson puts Harriet on a leave of absence pending investigation. Learning of the incident, Amy discovers that the fireworks in their home are gone. Peter believes Luce was involved, but Amy insists that they have to protect their son.
Luce turns up at Harriet's home with flowers, saying he feels uncomfortable about her losing her job. However, he contradicts this by confronting her about ruining DeShaun's athletic career and putting Luce on a pedestal. She accuses Luce of being hypocritical, protecting himself by using other minority students, including Stephanie, to "run his errands" of subterfuge against her. Luce argues "that is not the same thing".
Amy follows Luce to a hideout where he has sex with Stephanie. When Amy returns home, Luce arrives and reconciles with her. Later, Luce gives a speech at school, thanking Amy and Peter for raising him and saying how lucky he feels to be an American, with the chance to start over and tell his own story. Afterwards, Luce goes on a jog, visibly upset.

## Cast

* Naomi Watts as Amy Edgar
* Octavia Spencer as Harriet Wilson
* Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Luce Edgar
* Norbert Leo Butz as Principal Dan
* Andrea Bang as Stephanie Kim
* Marsha Stephanie Blake as Rosemary
* Tim Roth as Peter Edgar
* Astro as Deshaun Meeks
* Omar Brunson as Corey Johnson
* Noah Gaynor as Kenny Orlicki
* Christopher Mann as Coach Reeves
* Amanda Troya as Kelly Martinez

## Production

In November 2017, it was announced Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Tim Roth had joined the cast of the film, with Julius Onah directing from a screenplay by himself and JC Lee. John Baker, Onah, and Andrew Yang served as producers on the film with Rob Feng, Amber Wang, and Lee served as executive producers under their Dream Factory Group banner. In December 2017, Brian Bradley, also known as Stro, joined the cast of the film. Onah spoke about the importance of rehearsal with actors to his process. The actors rehearsed with each other before filming to create deeper familiarity, this includes a rehearsal in which all the young actors joined up in New York to hang out and develop a deeper backstory and understanding of their characters. The film was shot on 35mm film.

## Release

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2019. Shortly after, NEON & Topic Studios acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released on August 2, 2019, and came out on VOD by Universal Home Entertainment on October 29, 2019.

## Reception
### Box office

Luce grossed $2 million in the United States and Canada, and $0.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $2.3 million, plus $76,183 with home video sales.

### Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 171 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Luce brings a stellar ensemble to bear on a satisfyingly complex story that addresses its timely themes in thought-provoking fashion." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 72 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
The Guardian's Benjamin Lee said of Kelvin Harrison Jr.'s performance, "It's an utterly mesmeric turn, filled with crushing vulnerability and insidious menace, in a brutal, dramatically explosive film that challenges preconceptions and leaves us with difficult, troubling questions to consider." Critic Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com praised the film, commenting, "It reminded me of early Mamet work although with a commentary on race he could never attempt. All of this, and it's got one of the best ensemble performances of Sundance 2019. This is one to watch for." He went on to specifically praise Harrison Jr.'s performance as "the real deal... flat out brilliant."

## Accolades

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| Black Reel Awards | February 7, 2019 | Outstanding Director | Julius Onah | Nominated |
| Black Reel Awards | February 7, 2019 | Outstanding Actor | Kelvin Harrison Jr. | Nominated |
| Black Reel Awards | February 7, 2019 | Outstanding Supporting Actress | Octavia Spencer | Nominated |
| Black Reel Awards | February 7, 2019 | Outstanding Screenplay | J.C. Lee and Julius Onah | Nominated |
| Black Reel Awards | February 7, 2019 | Outstanding Emerging Director | Julius Onah | Nominated |
| Black Reel Awards | February 7, 2019 | Outstanding Independent Feature | Julius Onah, John Baker and Andrew Yang | Nominated |
| Central Ohio Film Critics Association | December 14, 2019 | Actor of the Year | Kelvin Harrison Jr. | Nominated |
| Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle Awards | February 2, 2019 | Best Supporting Actress | Octavia Spencer | Nominated |
| Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle Awards | February 2, 2019 | Best Adapted Screenplay | Julius Onah and J.C. Lee | Nominated |
| Chlotrudis Awards | 2020 | Best Actor | Kelvin Harrison Jr. | Nominated |
| Chlotrudis Awards | 2020 | Best Supporting Actress | Octavia Spencer | Nominated |
| Chlotrudis Awards | 2020 | Best Adapted Screenplay | J.C. Lee and Julius Onah | Won |
| Independent Spirit Awards | February 8, 2020 | Best Director | Julius Onah | Nominated |
| Independent Spirit Awards | February 8, 2020 | Best Male Lead | Kelvin Harrison Jr. | Nominated |
| Independent Spirit Awards | February 8, 2020 | Best Supporting Female | Octavia Spencer | Nominated |
| Georgia Film Critics Association | January 10, 2020 | Breakthrough Award | Kelvin Harrison Jr. | Nominated |
| Greater Western New York Film Critics Association Awards | 2020 | Best Picture | Luce | Nominated |
| Greater Western New York Film Critics Association Awards | 2020 | Best Adapted Screenplay | J.C. Lee and Julius Onah | Nominated |
| Hollywood Critics Association | January 9, 2020 | Best Independent Film | Luce | Nominated |
| NAACP Image Awards | February 22, 2020 | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture | Octavia Spencer | Nominated |
| International Online Cinema Awards | 2020 | Best Supporting Actress | Octavia Spencer | Nominated |
| New York Film Critics, Online | December 7, 2019 | Breakthrough Performance | Kelvin Harrison Jr. | Won |
| Online Film & Television Association | February 2, 2020 | Best Breakthrough Performance: Male | Kelvin Harrison Jr. | Nominated |
| San Diego Film Critics Society Awards | December 9, 2019 | Best Supporting Actress | Octavia Spencer | Nominated |
| San Diego Film Critics Society Awards | December 9, 2019 | Best Adapted Screenplay | J.C. Lee and Julius Onah | Won |
| San Diego Film Critics Society Awards | December 9, 2019 | Breakthrough Artist | Kelvin Harrison Jr. | Nominated |
| Sundance Film Festival | February 1, 2020 | U.S. Dramatic Competition Grand Jury Prize | Julius Onah | Nominated |