Luce

Based on a play by J.C. Lee, this drama is (unsurprisingly) talky and static, but it also tackles complex issues of race, privilege, and expectations in a deliberately inconclusive, provocative way. Co-written by Lee and director Julius Onah, Luce has a clean, unexceptional look, full of evenly lit interiors, and it contains a great deal of awkward expositional dialogue that explains the hard road it took for Luce and his parents to arrive where they are. But it gets power from what it doesn't show. The contraband fireworks and drugs become like a sleight-of-hand trick when it's revealed that Luce and his teammates share lockers, and the contents of any locker could belong to any of them.

In another example, Stephanie's ordeal at the party isn't seen, only described, from her own hazy point of view; Luce himself could have been one of her tormentors, or her rescuer, and the true answer is never known. Ms. Wilson is perhaps the most interesting character -- piloted by another masterful Spencer performance -- able to see a little more clearly than some, but not as clearly as others. Ultimately, the movie asks questions about how we view others, what we expect from them, and how we react when those expectations aren't met. Despite its flaws, Luce is a strong, effective, and useful movie.