LUCY IN THE SKY (2019)
Starring Natalie Portman, Jon Hamm, Zazie Beetz
Directed by Noah Hawley
Written by Noah Hawley, Elliott DiGuiseppi, Brian C. Brown
Distributed by Fox Searchlight. 124 minutes. Opening 10/4 at Arclight Cinemas and The Landmark.
Lucy in the Sky tells the story of an astronaut, Lucy Cola (Natalie Portman) who, after viewing planet Earth from up above, has a moment of transcendence in which her world is changed (you see it in her captivated, hypnotized stare). The film then explores the way that a person’s life may change when they’ve had such a moment, only to be brought back and expected to go about their previous existence. It’s a valid thought experiment to ponder: would you feel empowered to embark on anything knowing you were in control, or would you unravel?
In this case, it’s the latter. The mental unraveling of Lucy is an interesting angle for this or any film to have, nihilism taking over. But the film doesn’t quite communicate this in the cleanest way. Natalie Portman as Lucy Cola, a fiery, whip-smart Texan astronaut could have had more interesting or entertaining ways of living her life again, but instead she acts on confusingly base impulses like beginning an affair with a colleague (Jon Hamm), and ending up driving across state lines in a koo koo disguise to warn the woman he’s now seeing (Zazie Beetz) of his untrustworthy ways. It’s a storyline that, while apparently based on real events (the film is based on the true story), sacrifices an opportunity to sift through more poignant philosophical thoughts, and instead makes for an odd reading of feminism.
The overall visual language of Lucy in the Sky is also confusing – I’m curious why director Noah Hawley changed aspect ratio so much, as it makes for a distracting experience. But there’s still an interesting thought that, once you acknowledge your unfathomably small place in the universe, what will you do next?
