It has long been
a complaint that there are not enough female directors in the Hollywood
system, a point that is marked by an annual reminder in the Academy Awards,
which has only seen one female director win in 87 years. I would say that this
is more of a reminder how few quality female directors that are working in Hollywood
In yet another
of this past year’s blunders from Sony Pictures Studios, this project was
dropped when the director insisted on casting Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle) in the
critical starring role as pop music superstar Noni. Not only does she capture
the essence of celebrity icons such as Beyonce in her onstage persona,
Mbatha-Raw is equally convincing when she lets down her guard in her private
life. She shows this side to a young idealistic cop named Kaz (Nate Parker),
who gets pulled into a cover up story after Noni attempts suicide on the
balcony of a hotel. Because Kaz doesn’t care about the fame, Noni is able to
find a piece of herself being near him, with the film’s more interesting
commentaries on the price of celebrity.
Written by Prince-Bythewood,
the screenplay feels like a perfect hip-hop companion to John Carney’s Begin Again. Both have somewhat
idealistic prescriptive solutions to the superficial and demeaning world of
mainstream music, though they are done with enough talent and good intentions
to ignore the naivety. The spectacular casting and the director’s ability to
get convincing performances from them also helps smooth over any rough patches
there might be in the script, from the stars to the supporting roles. Beyond the Lights features two fantastic
leading performances, which means everything to the impact of the film’s love
story, but it is also filled with a number of memorable supporting roles.
Minnie Driver
probably carries the heaviest weight attempting to play Noni’s controlling
mother and manager without losing all empathy from the audience. Danny Glover
is also better than he has been in years in a small role as Kaz’s father, and
even brief appearances by Noni’s entourage are highlighted by The Logo Channel
darling, Darryl Stephens (“Noah’s Arc”). With casting this good, I would hope
that no studio questions Prince-Bythewood’s choices in the future.
The Blu-ray
release comes with a Digital HD copy, on top of a director’s cut paired with
the theatrical cut of the movie. The special features also have a number of
deleted scenes which were not in either cut of the film, available with
optional commentary. There is also a feature-film commentary track with
Prince-Bythewood, along with longtime editor Terilyn Shropshire and
cinematographer Tami Reiker. Also included is an additional alternate sequence,
a few featurettes highlighting the relevance of the film’s narrative and
appreciation for another of Prince-Bythewood’s essential crew members, and a
music video from the film.
Entertainment Value:
8.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 8.5/10
Historical
Significance: 7/10
Special Features: 8/10
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