Lucy in the Sky

Deep character studies can make fantastic films if you have a great performance behind the character. Movies about post-traumatic stress can add a level of drama that a lot of films simply can't. In the case of Lucy in the Sky, this is a film that deals with both for the entire duration. So, what went wrong here? This movie is proof that not every true story will make a worthwhile feature film. This is one of the worst films of the year.

Following Lucy (Natalie Portman) as she arrives back on Earth after a mission in space, a combination of wishing to go back and not wanting the life she original had begins to take her over. Not only does could that set-up lend itself to a fascinating character study, but I would have preferred it to not be a true story. As I said, this story doesn't have enough depth to lend itself to a full feature film. After setting up where this character has been and where she is now, Lucy in the Sky has nowhere to go.

Natalie Portman is completely committed to this character and is easily the biggest saving grace of this film. On top of her great performance, there is a very unique way this film is presented. With aspect ration constantly changing throughout the film, it felt like a neat little experiment to have the shape of the screen feel like it was how Lucy was feeling in the moment. Sadly, both of these elements deserved a better film to be a part of. Never once I feel that this was a great character being explored, but rather just a great character, not being explored enough, placed in a terrible film.

I could try to find positives in the fact that the space sequences are beautiful to look at in terms of visual effects, but those sequences end after the first five minutes. The addition of performers like Jon Hamm or Zazie Beetz should normally feel like an elevation, but they're ultimately underused. The climax of this film felt like it should have taken place toward the middle of the movie, because it wasn't all that exciting and like the rest of the movie, pretty much goes nowhere and makes you question what the point of this movie even was.

I'm not one who usually bashed on a film, because I like to see the good in most movies, but it's very difficult when a director like Noah Hawley, who I have loved on many television projects, chooses a poor first outing for his feature film debut. After watching this film at the Toronto International Film Festival, it became the first film that I've ever seen at a festival that I straight-up disliked. There are saving graces when it comes to Natalie Portman, the visual presentation, and even the direction by Noah Hawley, in terms of getting great performances out of everyone, but this is one of the weakest stories that I've seen on the big screen in years.

I have to agree with most of the reviewers on here, this movie didn't deliver at all. I had high expectations, was hoping for a decent sci-fi movie but instead I got a quite boring drama. I wouldn't say the actors were bad, far from that, Natalie Portman and the rest did their job, but the story was just weak, certainly for the first half of the movie. The movie was also much too long, certainly for the story they wanted to tell. I wouldn't waste too much time on this one if I were you.

Can't say much about this, Portman's accent is almost as bad a s the wig she wears in it, (apologies if its not a wig,)

disappointed was hoping for more.

We look for anything over 5/10 to at least make it pass some of the many hours pass during our extended time at home, this is where we draw the line of Passable, anything below this we would not recommend as it would be better to paint a wall then watch it dry.

"Lucy In the Sky" (2019 release; 124 min.) brings the story of Lucy. As the movie opens, Lucy is doing a space walk near the International Space Station, where the Shuttle has brought the astronauts. Lucy is overwhelmed by the experience. Upon returning to earth, we get to know her husband who also works at NASA. It becomes clear very quickly that Lucy is having a hard time readjusting to life on earth, her husband calling it suffering from "rocketlag".Meanwhile Lucy feels a special bond with Mark, who also has flown on the Space Shuttle... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the first feature-length from debut director Noah Hawley, best known for his TV work including "Fargo". Here he brings a story to the screen that is "Inspired by real events", as we are informed at the beginning of the movie. Indeed, the story reminds of the real life story of astronaut Lisa Nowak, who did a space mission with the Shuttle in 2006 (can't tell you more as it would spoil your viewing experience). Let's be clear: "Lucy In the Sky" is NOT a space movie a la the recent "Ad Astra" or "Gravity" a few years ago. In fact, there are only a few scenes set in space, with a total screen time of about 5 minutes. The movie tells us what happens to Lucy AFTER she returns back to earth. In that sense, the movie's marketing campaign and trailer is completely misleading, I'm sorry to say. Natalie Portman as Lucy does the best that she can in what is a challenging script, certainly in the movie's first hour. If you wonder whether the movie contains the Beatles song "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds", it does (covered by Lisa Hannigan). I noticed in the end credits that Reece Witherspoon is one of the producers. One definitive positive is the movie's original score, an orchestral instrumental composed by Jeff Russo, and one I plan on checking out further.

"Lucy In the Sky" premiered to negative criticism at last month's Toronto International Film Festival, and has remained under clouds ever since. After opening in a few cities last weekend, the movie rolled out to more cities this weekend, and opened on 3 screens for all of Greater Cincinnati (population: 2.5 million). The Sunday early evening screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati turned out to be a private screening, as I was literally the only person in the theater. In short: this movie has bombed completely at the box office, and I can't see it getting a much wider (or longer) theater run. I was aware of the negative reviews and criticisms going into the theater today, and hence my expectations were low, very low indeed. Hence I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't a complete disaster, and the 2 hours flew by pretty quickly. If you are interested in a flawed yet worthwhile character study (and then some), I'd suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (doubtful at this point), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

Lucy in the Sky is inspired by true events in the most artificial sense. Telling the story of an Astronaut dealing her own sanity. The film means well. It clearly has something to say, but I fails to give anything to us in a meaningful way.

Natalie Portman gives it her all, playing a character that is losing herself and has a lot of emotional baggage. She's terrific, but sadly the rest of the film is not. Lucy in the Sky is a miscalculated mess, with so many things in it and so little as well that it's hard to remain engaged.

The movie feels empty, emotionless and very dull. The only thing of visual interest are when then the aspect ratio of the film changes throughout the film. We go from 4:3 to 16:9 and more. The screen shrinks grows and it all seems based on how our character is feeling at the time. It's interesting, but proves to be a large distraction.

The film ultimately has nothing to really offer. There's no incite, no intrigue and it's ultimately empty. Natalie Portman does her best as do the rest of the cast, but it ends up just being a failed film with good ideas executed poorly.