![]() ![]() Corbet invests these early scenes with great energy, visual poetry and sardonic humor. “You make the sort of music the boy who attacked me used to listen to,” she muses. After losing her virginity to a theatrically angsty British goth rocker, Celeste has a glum but poignant epiphany. The song unexpectedly transforms her into America’s sweetheart, scoring her a lucrative record deal and the services of a sleazy, nameless manager (Law in unusually punchy, charismatic form).Īs the Faustian temptations of fame loom closer, Celeste and Eleanor are plunged into a jet-setting whirl of activity, from Stockholm recording studios to L.A. ![]() But Celeste recovers and, accompanied by her more musically gifted older sister Eleanor (Stacy Martin), performs a tender tribute ballad at a memorial to the victims. Ah, but if only he had gone with my preferred title, The Childhood of a Diva.ĭivided into two main acts, framed by a prelude and coda, Vox Lux opens in 1999 with a jarring classroom massacre that leaves teenage high-schooler Celeste (Cassidy) with a life-threatening spinal injury. Even if Corbet’s grandiose ambitions sometimes get lost in tonal wobbles and pretentious flourishes, there is more than enough juicy material in this darkly glamorous postmodern fairy tale to score a left-field commercial hit. In counterpoint to them is a stridently unsettling orchestral score by cult avant-garde composer Scott Walker, himself a former teen-pop idol, who previously worked on Childhood of a Leader. The busy soundtrack throbs with EDM glitz-pop stompers by Sia, the Australian singer-songwriter who has penned hits for Beyonce and Rihanna, and more. Besides great work from Portman, Jude Law and Raffey Cassidy ( The Killing of a Sacred Deer), it features long passages of wry voiceover narration by Willem Dafoe. But Vox Lux is a far more substantial and satisfying film, rich in meaty performances, novelistic texture and stylistic verve. The 30-year-old writer-director describes the two works as companion pieces, using the same literary device of placing fictional characters on the fringe of world-shaking real events who then go on to shape history themselves. He returns to the Lido with Vox Lux, which premieres here ahead of its North American debut in Toronto next week. Its key theme seems to be lost innocence, on both a personal and national scale.Ĭorbet’s first feature, the arch historical fable The Childhood of a Leader, earned the best director and debut prizes in Venice in 2015. Spanning almost 20 years, Vox Lux makes an audacious attempt to understand post-Columbine, post-9/11 America through the life story of a superstar pop diva who is both a victim of random violence and unwitting catalyst for further tragedy. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.Īny changes made can be done at any time and will become effective at the end of the trial period, allowing you to retain full access for 4 weeks, even if you downgrade or cancel.The joyous spectacle of Natalie Portman throwing weapons-grade bitch-queen tantrums is just one of the guilty pleasures in actor-turned-director Brady Corbet’s stylish, original and ambitious second feature. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for $69 per month.įor cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. For a full comparison of Standard and Premium Digital, click here.Ĭhange the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. Premium Digital includes access to our premier business column, Lex, as well as 15 curated newsletters covering key business themes with original, in-depth reporting. Standard Digital includes access to a wealth of global news, analysis and expert opinion. During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages. ![]()
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