Vox Lux Movie Review

Vox Lux (2018)

Rent Vox Lux on Amazon Video
Written by: Brady Corbet
Directed by: Brady Corbet
Starring: Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Stacy Martin
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
An unusual set of circumstances brings unexpected success to a pop star.

Verdict
This is a fascinating portrait of stardom. We see Celeste before she's a star and skip ahead eighteen years. She's a very different person and you wonder how much of that is stardom. It's the kind of movie that makes you want to watch again for clues. This is a very different take on what being a celebrity is, and it's not flattering. It's not the typical movie which makes it so fascinating. Just a note, the opening of the movie is a school shooting and it's a rough watch.
Watch it.

Review
The introduction is heavy and harsh. It's graphic, violent, and difficult to watch.

Celeste was injured in the shooting and a song she writes about the experience catapults her into the national spotlight. She seems business savvy and detached. Is that detachment due to her experience that gave her a new perspective on life?

We then skip ahead eighteen years. Celeste is a full fledged star, much more dramatic and over the top now. She's very much a petulant child and I have to imagine that being a pop star, she got most everything she wanted along the way which changed her demeanor.

There's a weird juxtaposition with the actress that played young Celeste also playing her daughter.

Celeste is strung out or on something constantly. The implication is that's the cost of fame, or at least what it takes to cope. Celeste's sister is her manager, but Celeste hates her sister. She's not just mean but hateful. What happened to Celeste? The sister is the one raising Celeste's kid and also writes Celeste's songs. Celeste is an egomaniac, and it's such a stark difference from the kid we saw earlier.

The present day concert is marred by an act of violence where the attackers using Celeste's iconography. Is it a link or coincidence?

This portrays celebrity as a difficult path, full of destructive coping mechanisms. We see this celebrity pop performer behind the scenes, and that person is not the curated image the fans see. We're behind the facade and it's not pretty. We see Celeste barely able to stand as she walks to the stage, but she projects a very different image on the stage.
Portman does a great job. It's hard to imagine she played Jackie just two years ago.

This divide, the dichotomy between past and present that are both linked by violence makes this intriguing as we're left to come to our own conclusions.
The narration that's been throughout the movie is additive when so often narration is ill used. It adds a deal with the devil story towards the end that seemingly has to be fiction, but is a fantasy tale that fits what we've seen. If Celeste had made a deal with the devil, the result would definitely be the consequence. It's an allegory, Celeste got what she wanted, stardom, but it's ruined her. She's not even a likable person any more.

I love the mediation on the idea of fame, the revelation of what celebrity really means. So much of this movie is what the viewer ascribes to it. We get just a few bits and pieces. I really liked this movie, though reviews weren't great. That may stem from the fact that this isn't a typical movie. That's exactly what I like about it. It's a movie that pushes you to draw your own conclusions.