It would seem that the age old adage of ‘be careful what you ask for’ is at best often duplicated, and at worse, a jaded concept when it comes to the genre of romance, especially with fame at its center.  14 years after Love and Basketball, writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood gives the romance one more try, but does she succeed?

The Synopsis

Vision is one of the main themes of the movie.  From the title, to the cinematography, to the conversation, the characters, and the audience must choose a lens through which to view life unfolding.  Two completely different main characters unified through love is not exactly a new idea, but Bythewood’s writing and directing married with an incredible cast of actors adds depth to the movie that I am not sure could have been executed as successfully another cast.  Particularly, the performances of Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Minnie Driver, Nate Parker, and Danny Glover.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Noni Jean, a bi-racial daughter born in South London to a black father she never knew and a white mother who only knows her.  Having Noni at 17, Macy Jean (played by Minnie Driver) was forced to grow up quickly, and alone.  Her parents did not accept her actions, and her daughter, and like any good mother, Macy Jean’s instinct is to smother her daughter with love, fuel her dreams, and to make sure that all of the love Macy did not feel, Noni does. Even if it hurts, and does it.

Enter Kaz Nicols (played by Nate Parker), a cop who wants to be Politician, following in the footsteps of his father David Nicols(Danny Glover), but determined to leave a bigger footprint by improving on the legacy.  He meets Noni while on a special assignment, and saves Noni from ending her life by saying one phrase, ‘I see you’.  From there, it is a constant exploration of who sees who in what way and why, until everyone is forced to admit their faults, fears, and make the necessary changes to improve their own life.

The Review

The story is not a new one, but the journey that the cast of Beyond the Lights takes to get there is shockingly refreshing.  Minnie Driver and Danny Glover nail the ‘I walked so that you can run’ overbearing parents role to a tee, and the symmetry between the two makes you wish that they would get together throughout the movie, if for no other reason than so they could have something else to do other than live vicariously through their children.  Gugu Mbatha-Raw shines as broken starlet on a journey to finding her own strength, and Nate Parker plays the hero so well, you will want to buy him a cape and call him ‘hero’, as he begins to be known throughout the movie.

What makes Bythewood’s movie a success is the same thing that one would think would make it not so.  It is universal.  Anyone can identify Noni, Macy, Kaz, or David.  In fact, at times we have been each of these characters.  There is a simple complexity that allows the audience to be intrigued without being lost in the characters.  As always, Bythewood’s soundtrack is amazing.  If you have seen Love and Basketball, you know that the song selection during scenes is equally as important as the scene itself.  Given that the music of today is nowhere as good as it was during that era, I was pleasantly surprised Bythewood was able to find such amazing gems.  As I mentioned before, the story is not a new one, but the journey is quite enjoyable.  The chemistry between the main characters, the hardness that Minnie Driver delivers, and Mbatha-Raw’s performance as a starlet losing a persona and becoming a person is worth viewing for yourself.

Are you going to theaters to see Beyond The Lights?