Beyond the Lights (2014)
(Gina Prince-Bythewood, US 2014, 116 min., DCP)
Director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s third feature (after Love & Basketball and The Secret Life of Bees) stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw as pop singer Noni Jean, caught between her burgeoning success and her lost sense of self. Overwhelmed by her sudden success as a corporate-groomed music star, Noni has a moment of weakness on the balcony of her hotel room. Kaz Nicol (Nate Parker), a uniformed police officer with political aspirations, saves her from falling and is drawn into her public world. As the two get to know each other and push each other to be more authentic, they fall in love and run away, knowing that the real world will find them in the end. A modern-day romance in the era of the twenty-four-hour news cycle, this film encourages us all to be true to ourselves, anchored by Mbatha-Raw’s central performance.