LUCY IN THE SKY
***
Dir: Noah Hawley (15, 124 mins)
An offbeat take on the plight of an astronaut, this feature debut for TV showrunner Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion) is an intriguing if ultimately flawed drama, loosely based on fact, dealing with post-space trauma. Natalie Portman plays Lucy, a character inspired by real-life astronaut Lisa Nowak, who was arrested in 2007 for trying to kidnap the lover of her ex-astronaut partner with whom she had developed a massive obsession. Hawley takes the bare bones of the story to fashion something altogether more eerie as Portman returns to Earth unable to accept the normality of life after her adventures in space. She has a lover, handsome astronaut Jon Hamm, a rival female astronaut Zazie Beetz and a dull husband played by Dan Stevens. Passed over for the next space mission due to her erratic behavior, Portman takes ever more unhinged steps to make herself feel like she exists. Behaving both as a study in existential angst as well as a thriller, the film does not completely succeed in either but remains interesting throughout, anchored by Portman’s edgy central performance. The rest of the cast also equip themselves well, particularly Ellen Burstyn as Portman’s blunt, alcoholic grandmother. A hallucinatory tale of loss, loneliness and space travel that grapples with identity and existence itself.
Opens Dec 6
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