Butler's Cinema Scene

Natalie Portman

“VOX LUX” My rating: B 

110 minutes | MPAA rating: R

One of the movies’ recurring themes — the pop/country/rock idol who makes great music despite (or perhaps because of)  personal demons — gets an innovative reworking in Brady Corbet’s “Vox Lux.”

The ever-surprising Natalie Portman is terrific as Celeste, a sort of musical mashup of Madonna, Gaga and especially Sia (who wrote the film’s original songs). But whereas those divas seem to more or less have their heads on straight, Celeste is always walking a fine line between musical brilliance and emotional meltdown.

Interestingly enough, Portman doesn’t appear on screen until halfway through the film.  Corbet’s screenplay opens with a horrific scene from Celeste’s youth — a school shooting that leaves our teen protagonist (Raffey Cassidy) with a bullet permanently imbedded in her neck (this explains her  collection of scar-hiding chokers).

Almost by accident, Celeste’s fame as a survivor of tragedy segues into a burgeoning career in music. Under the guidance of a savvy but fatherly manager (Jude Law) she begins recording songs with her older sister Eleanor (Stacy Martin) and touring the world. (The sisters have parents, yes, but they are seen only fleetingly.  Clearly, they’re not important to this yarn.)

Initially the girls behave like the good small-town Christians they are…but life in the fast lane takes its toll.  Celeste loses her virginity to the lead guitarist (Micheal Richardson) of a semi-psychedelic rock band.

Natalie Portman, Raffey Cassidy

Next thing you know it’s 16 years later and Celeste is a 32-year-old cultural icon with a history of bad behavior (apparently there’s a hit-and-run in her past), substance abuse, and a teenage daughter of her own (played by  Cassidy, who on the basis of her dual roles  here should be a talent to watch).

The film’s second act unfolds during a single day as Celeste whiles away the time until her evening performance. We eavesdrop on a series of conversations between Celeste and those in her orbit…conversations that, no matter how civil at first  invariably devolve into angry confrontation.

Celeste clearly resents that her daughter is being raised by her estranged sister Eleanor. Despite the best efforts of her publicist (Jennifer Ehle), Celeste gets into it with a journalist (Christopher Abbott) whose questions about her private life she finds too invasive. Her longtime manager (still Law) is now her sometime lover and  most reliable drug connection.

Moreover, Celeste can’t quite ignore the news that terrorists in Europe have taken to attacking innocent civilians while wearing masks patterned after those worn by Celeste and her backup dancers onstage during performances.

With the exception of one stoned-out bit of physical comedy in a hotel hallway, director Corbet treats all this with a completely straight face.

The film’s final 20 minutes are a real-time depiction of Celeste’s concert that night.  Arriving at the arena she’s whacked out of her mind and pissed at everyone.  Her handlers are wondering whether to cancel the show.

But she pulls herself together and in short order is perfectly delivering her carefully choreographed act. It’s a triumph of will over pharmaceuticals.

But shouldn’t it be something more?  That’s my main beef with “Vox Lux”…it never really adds up to a coherent statement about stardom or the entertainment biz or parenthood or anything else.

Watchable? Yes, and Portman and Cassidy are terrific.

But I found myself wanting more.

| Robert W. Butler