OVP: Beyond the Lights (2014)

Film: Beyond the Lights (2014)
Stars: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver, Danny Glover, Machine Gun Kelly
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Oscar History: 1 nomination (Best Original Song-"Grateful")
Snap Judgment Ranking: 2/5 stars

Do you ever watch those episodes of SVU where the plot is so obviously ripped from a major news story that it becomes uncomfortable to watch as they start to slip slightly from the narrative that you're watching?  That's a little how I felt while watching Beyond the Lights.  It's hard not to see, particularly from the opening scenes, the clear parallels between Gugu Mbatha-Raw's Noni and that of superstar singer Rihanna, who is clearly the inspiration for at least part of this film.  Whether it's the meteoric rise before she even had an album out or her famed partnership with a white rapper or her provocative sexualization onscreen, you can see what the writers were clearly trying to do to help the marketing team.  The result, though, is oddly not as compelling as if they had just gone with a Rihanna biopic, as the story is completely predictable.  This isn't to say there aren't enjoyable and sometimes "hmm"-inducing moments, but by-and-large this is a biopic that has all of the cliches and none of the "did that really happen?" moments to go with them.

(Spoilers Ahead) The film follows Noni, a talented singer from the poor side of Bristol, who has managed to break-through enough to already have a Billboard award before the release of her upcoming album.  In the process of becoming a star, though, she has lost her way, frequently posing for sexually-explicit photo shoots and singing songs that don't reflect her personality.  One night after winning her award she attempts to jump off a balcony and is saved by a ridiculously stacked bodyguard named Kaz (Parker), who becomes her friend and eventually her lover.  We watch as the two of them try to get ahead in their careers (Kaz wants to become a political power player) with both struggling to make their relationship work with the newfound direction in their careers.  In an odd twist toward the end of the movie (at least for someone who watches these movies frequently and sees the trends) it's actually Kaz who gives up a moment in his career to be with Noni as she cascades into a new direction in hers.  Along the way there's lots of fighting about what path Noni wants to take her career, scenes with her overbearing demon-mother and ones that occasionally try to humanize her (more on that in a second) and of course music.

The film's best attribute, by a country mile, is Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who plays Noni with fierce realism.  I always applaud realism in a movie and when people act like true human beings and not just convenient movie versions of them (it was one of the most shattering things about my recent viewing of Clouds of Sils Maria), and that's what Mbatha-Raw does here.  We get someone who isn't frequently foolish or who doesn't know how to play the game.  Most of the movie she's totally in control, and we see why she was able to rise so quickly to the top.  The confidence, the swagger, the ability to negotiate with people she can't stand or manipulate a press moment-she has superstar down pat.  Some of the most telling moments were interviews with people like Don Lemon and Gayle King (playing themselves) when we saw how Noni tells the truth, but it's a very watered-down version of it and we see how well-rehearsed the concept of celebrity is.  The film occasionally tries to take away from her work by having silly road blocks put in her way (honestly-the record company wouldn't have threatened to pull that album in a million years with her getting press like that; they would have rushed the release instead, and the dating-the-bodyguard-who-rescued-me thing would have been adored by the public), but Mbatha-Raw makes the most of her role here.  This is someone who, after Belle and Beyond the Lights, should be headlining movies constantly, but we'll see how Hollywood reacts considering its poor history of investing in African-American women in film.  Lest we forget how long it took Lupita Nyong'o to get a part after her Oscar.

The remainder of the film suffers by comparison.  Nate Parker is pretty to look at but can't really act.  Danny Glover and Minnie Driver can act, but the former seems to be on constant morphine throughout his performance while the latter breaks into levels of histrionics that border on Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest.  Driver is ridiculously over-the-top in this movie.  I'm not saying it's not occasionally fun to watch (the boardroom scenes are a hoot), but her character arch seems unearned-we're supposed to believe that her horrible Mama Rose routine is forgivable because she was poor?  Uh uh-not buying it.

The film's Oscar-nominated song is weirdly enough not one that was sung by Noni or another singer in the film (instead, the centerpiece of the movie is Nina Simone's classic "Blackbird"), but instead a Rita Ora song over the credits.  The song is uplifting and all that, but like all Diane Warren credit-sequence music, I can admire but I can't see a lot of the artistry.  Warren has a knack for writing songs that fit well for the film she's doing (she frequently signs on for uplifting and redemption-filled movies), but that doesn't mean that they're particularly good, especially when the film they are housing is just okay.  So kudos for her to getting back in the game (after thirteen years out of the game), but I hope when she eventually takes that Oscar its for a song that deserved to be nominated.

Those are my thoughts on Beyond the Lights-how about yours?  Did you enjoy the film, or were you with me that it was just okay?  Where do you see Gugu Mbatha-Raw's career going?  And where does "Grateful" rank in your Oscar lineup?  Share your thoughts in the comments!