Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Vox Lux Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 26, 2019

Vox Lux has much to say but doesn't have a coherent path towards expressing itself. The film, from Writer and Director Brady Corbet (The Childhood of a Leader), follows a young girl who would become a diva from discovery in the shadow of tragedy through her rise to stardom and her personal decline. The film is about experiences shaping a destiny and destiny shaping a person. The film is told from two unique perspectives, one as a star is born and another as a star sits on the precipice of personal decline and the potential of a comeback. Corbet attempts to tell her story at both ends, a story that is defined in its beginning, middle, and end in the prism of violence, physical and metaphysical violence alike. The film challenges the audience to sort it out, to put purpose and meaning to its character's life and music. It's forward but not aggressive, layered but not neatly so. It's a fascinating concept film that ultimately crumbles under the burdens of nearly impenetrable depth and flimsy narrative execution that perhaps relies too much on the audience, and not enough on itself, to offer a more succinct story and opening towards its greater meaning and purpose.

The film begins in the year 1999. A teenage girl named Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) is spending a normal day at school until a disturbed fellow student walks into the room, shoots the teacher, and opens fire on a mass of huddled students, massacring most all of those in the classroom and wounding Celeste in the neck. She survives her injuries, and despite wound placement she has not lost her voice or vocal abilities. In lieu of a statement at a remembrance, she instead performs a song she and her sister Ellie (Stacy Martin) have prepared. She sings beautifully, gracefully, from the heart. The song “became an anthem for the nation.” Celeste is recognized as both a talent and symbol of perseverance. She is approached by a music manager (Jude Law) who recognizes her potential and guides her through the dangerous personal and social world of burgeoning music industry stardom. Her brush with death leads her on a path to a new life in the spotlight as an up-and-coming Pop sensation.

In the year 2017, Celeste (Natalie Portman) finds her career on the rocks. She's still with her manager and sister and is mother to a teenage daughter (also played by Raffey Cassidy). She's become an alcoholic and her image is in decline. She's preparing a new album with a "Science Fiction" theme called "Vox Lux" that she hopes will jumpstart her career. But when she receives word that four gunmen have massacred a number of people on a beach while wearing facemarks in the style of those seen in one of her music videos, she's forced to question her career and the possibility that she somewhat inspired the attacks while confronting the press and fighting back her own emotional responses in the public eye.

The film's first half -- "Act I" as it calls it -- that follows Celeste's life-altering response to the school shooting and break into the music industry is its finest component. Perhaps it's because the narrative is more straightforward, perhaps it's because the deeper themes settle more closely to the surface, perhaps because there's a novelty in watching the beginning of an artist's career, in appreciating the uniqueness (though still somewhat succinctly explored) of the ascent, rather than bearing witness to the end, because there's a dramatic void to the fall. The film does offer an interesting narrative juxtaposition. Celeste's rise to fame comes from tragedy. Her fall from the top is mostly personal, but just as she believes that her new album, "Vox Lux," is poised to return her to prominence, it's another shooting, this one half a world away, that threatens to once again play a critical factor in her career. Celeste flubs questions she doesn't even want to answer to the press, but it's her personal response, the sense of guilt by association she feels, that mostly threatens to upend her career.

And it's all too real. Even with the recent mass shooting in New Zealand, a prominent commentator came under heavy personal fire for her response to being named as the shooter's primary influence in shaping his worldview which led him to slaughter 50 individuals. The problem is that the film struggles to lay claim not to its identity or story but rather to unpack it in a satisfying, meaningful manner. It's jumbled, clear in what it wants to say but unclear in how it says it. There's great narrative potential here to show how an individual's life, personality, success, decline, and sanity can be made and destroyed in a much larger arena of violence, public opinion, and the way the world spins, but Vox Lux never quite explores or reveals to satisfaction.

The performances capture a depth and spirit that the narrative cannot always achieve. Raffey Cassidy is quite good as the young Celeste, a person obviously afflicted by great trauma but taking her life's fortunes and rise to fame in some semblance of stride. There's a calmness and sincerity to the character, which can be seen slightly changing as her story pushes towards maturity. She is in full command of the character, revealing an emotional depth befitting the story and character. Unfortunately her performance is overshadowed by Portman's in the second half, not because Portman dominates the film but because her character becomes lost in the maelstrom that defines Celeste's adult life. It must be said that Portman's work, too, feels consumed by the burdensome narrative construction that never quite allows her character to fully and deeply explore. It's never clear if even Portman has a full and firm grasp of the film's deepest themes; she often seems like a performer going with the flow and working hard to realize those character qualities she grasps and banking on Brady Corbet to sort out the rest.

Vox Lux Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Vox Lux was shot on film, of course a rarity these days, but here it is and the 1080p, 1.66:1-framed Blu-ray image is nicely reflective of the film source. The only real issues include the extremely minor print speckle in one or two shots and raised black levels. The picture is otherwise attractive and true to its source. Grain retention is regular and distribution is complimentary and light. Textural qualities are excellent, whether odds and ends in a classroom or recording booth, everyday clothes or lavish costumes, or skin and hair seen in close-up. The elder Celeste is often seen in densely applied makeup which also reveals high yield textural density and visibility. The picture appears organically dimensional when it should and intimate as necessary. Colors are well saturated with a neutral contrast. Brightly colored clothes are a high point while skin tones appear accurate and more mundane support shades appear in good balance. This is a very pleasing image from Universal.

Vox Lux Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Vox Lux is a film about a Pop superstar, but its soundtrack is not necessarily one that reflects that. The film's finale is its most sonically energetic, when Celeste appears on stage performing some of her songs. Low end output is deep and complimentary, energetic musical notes push through the fronts, and crowd cheers and din complete the sequence with immersive and full-bodied surround integration. The track is other otherwise reserved, contemplative at times, even, with dialogue its primary component. The spoken word is delivered clearly and succinctly from the front-center channel. There are some additional elements of note, such as various musical expressions that range from sharp guitar riffs to light support elements when a young Celeste first performs in the recording studio. Some chatty din within the 42 minute mark after a concert pulls the listener into backstage hallways, and some camera shutters pop here and there off to the sides when the press covers Celeste's response to the beach shooting later in the movie.

Vox Lux Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Vox Lux contains only two brief supplements. First is the "Wrapped Up" Music Video (1080p, 2:13). The other extra is the film's theatrical trailer (1080p, 2:19). A filmmaker commentary track unpacking the movie's themes and approach would have been a most welcome supplement. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

Vox Lux Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Vox Lux is a film written with more potential than it reveals on the screen. The film has much to say but doesn't quite seem to say it in a way that allows the audience to grasp its full purpose. Performances are excellent and the underlying themes and ideas are worth exploring; they just don't quite come together in the end. Universal's Blu-ray delivers high quality video and audio presentations. Supplements are unfortunately limited to fluff. Rental.