‘Luce’ Film Review: Tense Thriller Examines a Model Student Suddenly Under Suspicion

Regardless of the premise behind the age-old foundation we still call the American Dream, not all are afforded the same prosperous outcome. Only the most powerful are granted the benefit of the doubt — the luxury to fall, reset and ultimately thrive. For the marginalized forced to kick-start their endeavors far behind on the racetrack, it’s a different story. How the intersection of race, gender and class shapes and oftentimes unjustly dictates one’s journey is eloquently examined in “Luce,” the third feature from Nigerian-American filmmaker Julius Onah. This cumulatively unnerving psychodrama, where everyone harbors a deep secret, couldn’t be more relevant to today’s America of Black Lives Matter, #MeToo and a severely biased allocation of power. But co-writers Onah and JC Lee (who wrote the stage play on which the film is based) take matters a step further. Their handsomely dynamic script continually pits various high-stakes qualms against each other, subtly conveying the longevity and evolution of these issues before they reached their current urgency. As such, “Luce” often asks you to question your own perceptions, beliefs, values and prejudices, however morally upright or well intentioned you think you might be. The central character is African American teenager Luce Edgar,...