estebangonzalez10 "Do you want to be a runner up, or do you want to be a winner?"Fifteen minutes into Beyond the Lights and I was about to dismiss Gina Prince- Bythewood's film as yet another formulaic celebrity romance trying to be this generation's The Bodyguard. But after the story and the characters were introduced, I realized there was much more to the simple premise. This is a character driven film and despite the familiar premise the movie is carried by the wonderful performances from the cast and their well written characters. Gina uses a familiar tale but manages to give each character their very own identity and that takes the story to unfamiliar dramatic territory avoiding the common clichés found in modern romance movies. Bythewood made an impact in 2000 with her feature film debut, Love & Basketball and she followed the success of that movie with The Secret Life of Bees. Beyond the Lights is her third feature film, and it made such an impact on me that I want to see her two previous movies now. It's not easy to find intelligent romantic films nowadays with strong performances, so that makes me appreciate Beyond the Lights all that more for avoiding cheap clichés and deciding to focus on the characters and giving them depth instead of simply trying to deliver cheesy lines and force romantic moments. Every character in this film could've very easily played a stereotype, but Gina avoids it by giving each one of them their own moment.Noni (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is a young and talented British R&B singer who is on the verge of becoming an international super star thanks to her collaborations with rapper Kid Culprit (Machine Gun Kelly) with whom she shares a relationship with. On the night in which they win an important music award for their hit single, Noni tries to commit suicide by jumping off from the hotel balcony, but she's saved by the police officer who was guarding her room. Kaz (Nate Parker) is an honest cop who is trying to make a difference in his community and is aspiring to be a politician by following the advice of his father, Captain Nicol (Danny Glover), a well respected man in the police force. After the balcony incident Noni's mother and agent, Macy Jean (Minnie Driver) downplays the suicide attempt by telling the media that her daughter was simply drunk and therefore almost fell over the balcony. Kaz isn't happy about having to lie to the media, but he is more concerned about Noni not trying to get help because it is evident that the pressure has gotten to her, and her mother isn't helping by downplaying the issue. He gets close to Noni, and it is evident that the two have chemistry, but she doesn't seem like a good fit for his political aspirations given the latest scandals she's been in and the sexy image she's selling. At the same time he realizes that this isn't who she really is and that her mother and recording label producers are simply creating her image and not allowing her to have her own voice. When he discovers who she truly is, the two become romantically involved and the plot takes off from there. Minnie Driver's character could have easily been one dimensional playing this mean and controlling mom/manager, but Gina avoids those stereotypes and gives her more room to work with despite how easy it is to dislike her for turning her daughter into this sex symbol product. This is just one example of how Gina decides to direct this character driven film giving each one a voice of their own. Another director perhaps wouldn't of included those small moments or conversations where we get a sense of why the character behaves in such a way. Nate Parker delivers a solid lead performance as this credible and likable young man who is trying to make a difference in his community, but it's Gugu who steals every scene she's in. At first she seems to be playing a similar character to Rihanna, but once she finds her own voice her character goes through an impressive transformation. She gives an explosive and emotional performance and wins everyone over with her wonderful voice. There is a scene where she sings a cappella in an outdoor bar in Mexico that is breathtaking and gripping at the same time. My only complaint is that the film does lose some of its steam towards the end of the movie, but the time spent with each one of these characters still made this a very enjoyable experience.http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

bjarias This is a surprisingly good film.. with a reasonable storyline.. good casting/ acting.. above average production values... and a music score that fits the overall tone/ setting of the film. All in all, this is well done movie-making .. above most all others in the genre. There are not many surprises, but all else works, so that all time spent is fairly solid entertainment. And a couple of moments are truly special.. her rendition of Blackbird near the end is spellbinding.. few could do it as well.. casting her was genius. And kudos to the camera and editing crews.. seconds can make or break a good film. For romantic dramas from this year, this has to be considered one of the best.

brchthethird I can't say that was ecstatic about seeing BEYOND THE LIGHTS because it just seemed like a 21st century update of THE BODYGUARD, but for what it's worth, despite being narratively uneven and weighed down with clichés, it still is a compelling portrait of what goes on behind the scenes of people who are in the public eye. It stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Noni Jean, a cookie-cutter pop star who specializes in the oversexed, over-produced crap that tops the charts these days. One night, after winning an award for her latest single, she attempts suicide but is saved by the officer (Nate Parker) assigned to protect her that evening. From that point, a romantic relationship develops between them as they each figure out how to break out of the mold that other people have tried to keep them in, and begin to think and act for themselves. On paper, that sounds pretty good generally speaking, the film does a good job exploring those themes. The real standout of the cast is Gugu Mbatha-Raw who brings a youthful quality and emotional honesty to a character who, initially, is asked to do a lot of degrading things for the sake of "image." Her mother, played by Minnie Driver, also does a great job as this domineering, controlling personality who micro-manages her daughter's life. One begins to wonder who exactly she wants the career and the fame for: her daughter or herself. It's because of these qualities that she is an extremely unlikeable character, yet there is one stripped down scene in which another, sweeter side is shown and you get a little back story on why she is the way she is. Nate Parker also acquits himself rather nicely, although he and his storyline about being an aspiring politician are mostly sidelined in favor of Noni, although to be fair she is the main character. It would have been nicer for the story to be a little more balanced in that regard, but the juxtaposition of his and Gugu Mbatha-Raw's characters was established well enough. Sadly, all is not well with the film. It succumbs to a lot of the narrative clichés that plague films revolving around music and romance. Fortunately, there is a segment about halfway in which a much-needed break is taken from it all, in which Noni and Kaz get some one-on-one time. There were also a handful of moments that made me laugh unintentionally, such as when Noni takes Kaz on his first flight and they make love to Beyonce's song "Drunk in Love." And then there's Noni's label partner and sort-of boyfriend Kid who was a collection of "white rapper" stereotypes who made me cringe every time he opened his mouth. Overall, the positive elements do outweigh the negative and the film delivers a satisfying story about being true to yourself.

JessJ13 When this movie initially hit theaters I did not go see it.Looking back I'm so disappointed in myself for not supporting this terrific film when it was out.What can I say about this movie....all round great movie.The acting by the two leads was just so believable and also by the rest of the casts.Gugu did so well playing this singer/star leaving me wishing that Noni was a real artist today. I highly recommend this movie to any young girl that looking to go in the music industry,just overall women in general looking to be in any industry.One of the realist movie to be released in awhile and it's not just a love story. A combination of many themes is incorporated in this fantastic movie.I just love it,great movie!!