Luce (2019)

A young black student (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) has been raised by white parents (Naomi Watts, Tim Roth) who adopted him when he was 7 years old from a war torn African country. Excelling in academics and athletics, he's the poster boy for the American dream. But when his teacher (Octavia Spencer) brings something to the attention of his parents, it appears that everything is not as smooth as it seems. Directed by Julius Onah, this is an unsettling film. The kind where you get a queasy feeling in your gut at the beginning of the movie that this isn't going to turn out well and it doesn't. The film addresses major issues head on: maintaining a black identity when raised in a well meaning Caucasian household, holding the family unit together whatever the sacrifice, the manipulation of the truth and the destruction of others to save yourself. It's not an easy film to sit through and kudos to Harrison who gives a fierce performance, presenting a smiling face to the world while waiting to explode underneath. He's matched by Octavia Spencer (in what may be her best performance yet) as a woman trying to do the right thing against impossible odds. The film addresses the issues but smartly realizes that they are too complex to present a solution. With Andrea Bang, Marsha Stephanie Blake and Norbert Leo Butz.