(Photo Courtesy of Relativity Media)As the opening credits began for Gina Prince-Bythewood’s newest film, “Beyond the Lights,” my expectations were honestly set fairly low. I had seen plenty of previews and teasers before taking my seat, and each trailer led me to expect a hour-and-a-half tribute to another “The Bodyguard”-style romance.
The previews advertise as a typical romantic drama: A young, attractive Noni Jean (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is the media’s hottest celebrity before her first album drops. Struggling to maintain the cool and collected image her fans expect of her, she attempts suicide, only to be saved by policeman and projected politician Kaz Nicols (Nate Parker). The young couple falls in love but must decide whether love will triumph over society's expectations. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-NsI8lZ5Lw Find entertainment that you'll be into here. Don't worry, we've thought this one out.
Rolling your eyes yet? So was I, but don’t think so fast. This movie is more than a romance; it’s a social commentary –– one we’ve needed for quite some time. Beneath its cheesy surface, “Beyond the Lights” acutely portrays the insane demands female pop stars endure.
We are first introduced to Noni as a child, when she sings Nina Simone’s “Blackbird” during her first talent show. Despite a beautifully harrowing performance, however, Noni’s mother (Minnie Driver) expresses disappointment in her daughter’s place as runner-up.
Noni’s mother is immediately portrayed as an emotionally-detached momager so domineering that she gives Kris Jenner a run for her money. Not only is their relationship strained, but, everywhere Noni turns, she experiences polarizing opinions: Either a man asking for an autograph drools over her with adoration, or a stranger tweets that she is a whore who needs to stop “trying so hard.”
This pressure, combined with the music industry’s obsessive need to keep Noni in what appears to be glorified underwear, drives her to a justifiable madness. Even then, she has nowhere to turn. Following her attempted suicide, Noni is hardly given a breather before she must stand before the press and assure the public that she merely “had one drink too many.” The first act of the film makes it clear that Noni’s emotions are second to her image.
When Noni meets Kaz, she is a hypersexualized bombshell, and he is the honorable hero. Although Parker’s role as Kaz was played exceptionally well, I found myself disappointed by the character’s one-dimensional role. I never thought I’d say this, but, for once, it is the male character who could have used some development. Sure, Kaz saved a woman from an abusive household and has his sights set on a future in politics, but this is all we know of his personality, if that’s what you’d call it. He fulfills every “honorable male” stereotype in the book: He’s a cop, he saves his love interest’s life and, hell, he even owns a dog.
The chemistry between Mbatha-Raw and Parker is strained in the actors’ first scenes together, and their relationship as a whole seemed rushed for the first third of the movie. The two appear to play out this strange power dynamic which eventually leads to a comical, yet somewhat unsettling sex scene on a plane. It isn’t until the two take time off together, around two-thirds of the way into the movie, that their relationship finally takes a realistic turn.
Although the movie maintains a good sense of entertainment value from the start, I found myself genuinely impressed by the second half, particularly after Noni washes off all of her makeup and unstitches her weave. Prior to this transformation, I could recognize that Mbatha-Raw was beautiful (quite obviously so), but there was always something about the plastered makeup, unnaturally straight, purple hair and uncomfortably pushed-up breasts that actually detracted from her natural appearance. Once these so-called "improvements" were gone, she was absolutely radiant.
This event in particular sold me. We are constantly bombarded with improvements deemed fit by Hollywood’s expectations. “Grease’s” goodie two-shoes suddenly decides to rock a perm and black leather, “The Breakfast Club’s” burnout wins over a jock with a little bit of mascara and even “Frozen’s” Elsa, a modern symbol of girl-power, received a semi-sexualized boost while “letting it go.” A glorified reverse makeover like Noni’s is unconventional in Hollywood, and much appreciated.
It is important to note, however, that this movie may very well criticize Hollywood, but it is still a product of Hollywood. It is disturbingly clear how overly sexual Noni must be in order to maintain her audience’s interest. Her mother must push her to expose her breasts in photo shoots and her music partner grabs her head on stage as if she’s in a porno, yet, while this is illustrated with a heavy sense of disapproval by the filmmakers behind “Beyond the Lights,” standard sexual elements are still used as an effective audience appeal.
For instance, Noni smashes glass and bloodies up her hands, yet, rather than grabbing a towel like a normal person, Kaz takes off his shirt to clean her up. Much like teenagers gasped for air following Taylor Lautner’s abdominal exposé in Twilight’s “New Moon,” women began fanning themselves in the theater. Perhaps this was to get our attention. The movie makes a subtle, yet necessary, point: yes, Hollywood and the media are becoming more and more intrusive into these people’s lives, yet we have no right to condemn them for simply mirroring our interests.
This movie could have very well been just like all the others, but I left the theater with a feeling of unexpected awe. Sure, the script was cheesy and played upon stereotypes, but it had a message: embrace your spirit.
Perhaps even the title of the film is telling. Noni’s new spirit is not about what was hidden “behind the lights” or even “beneath the lights” because, by the final scene of the movie, she quite clearly embraces her upbringing. It is about going beyond what was expected of her, and that is something I would be happy to witness again.
Reach the reporter at aplante@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @aimeenplante
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