by Nathaniel R
We're finally excited about 2019. The culprit is one Lucy in the Sky which is neither a Beatle biopic nor a sequel to Lucy in which ScarJo became some sort of supercomputer with black tentacles. Instead it's a sci-fi drama with Natalie Portman playing an astronaut named Lucy. Wasn't Portman going to do Gravity (2013) at one point? Anyway she finally gets her chance to do the wide-eyed-at- the-mysteries-of-the-cosmos thang here. Arguably she's already been there via Annihilation (2018) but that was less wide-eyed with wonder and more wide-eyed with "we're all gonna die" tension.
Lucy in the Sky is the feature directorial debut of Noah Hawley who made his name on various TV shows including the surreal superhero drama Legion, the one with Dan Stevens and his multiple personalities. We'll break down the trailer after the jump with our Yes No Maybe So system...
YES
• "Lucy, time to wrap it up" over that sustained closeup of Portman's gorgeous awestruck eyes. Very promising start
• That red door and the frame shrinking -- Hello aspect ratio hijinx. We love a director who is unafraid to play with form. In fact, there are expansions and constrictions of multiple kinds here, not just in the aspect ratio. For instance What was THIS shot?
• "I'm fine"... an excellent bookend choice for the teaser, we're once again just absorbing the minutae of Portman's memorable face and what she might be thinking. Looks like a real Best Actressy showcase. Yes!
• The staccato nature of the voiceover makes it hard to really absorb this. Very disjointed but we're meant to be offbalance as Lucy clearly is when returning from space. Portman with a heavy accent? Yes please. It's so fun that her acting has been getting so big-swing bold lately (see Vox Lux and Jackie for prime examples)
NO
Why Dan Stevens always gotta be so shifty looking? Must be the 'stache
Is Nat torn between Dan & Jon? Tough life she leads.
• Um... so it looks like Dan Stevens is the husband and Jon Hamm is the co-worker/lover? If there is a lot dull adultery drama inbetween the hypnotic imagery this might not be as exciting as it looks.
• The trailer ends with a list of actors names and it was only then we discovered that Ellen Burstyn was in it. You got The Burstyn and you can't even show her in the trailer? WTF. No respect. Well, there is one shot of what looks like a crowd at a funeral so maybe Burstyn is somewhere in that sequence. Mostly the trailer is all Portman all the time with a little Jon Hamm thrown in. Even Zazie Beetz barely gets a shot here. If you waste both Beetz and Burstyn we will have words with you, filmmakers.
MAYBE SO
• Is this a period piece? Does that explain the famous 1970s Dorothy Hamill haircut on Portman? If it's not a period piece and this is just an affection that's a lot of affectations for one movie (retro hair, southern twang, aspect ratio changes, flamboyant direction).
• This is apparently loosely based on the story of this woman but how loosely? Like "based on" or a fantastical "inspired by" pure sci-fi thing?
It might be toomuch... but for now it looks very enticing. We're a total yes.
THE TEASER TRAILER IF YOU HAVEN'T YET SEEN IT...
Are you a Yes, No, or a Maybe So? Or do you need to see more than a teaser to decide?