ABC Film Challenge – Sci-Fi – L – Lucy in the Sky (2019) Movie Review
Director: Noah Hawley
Writer: Elliott DiGuiseppi, Brian C Brown (Screenplay)
Starring: Natalie Portman, Jon Hamm, Zazie Beetz, Dan Stevens, Pearl Amanda Dickson, Ellen Burstyn, Colman Domingo
Plot: Astronaut Lucy Cola returns to Earth after a transcendent experience during a mission to space, and begins to lose touch with reality in a world that now seems too small.
Runtime: 2 Hours 4 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Lucy in the Sky starts as Lucy Cola (Portman) finishes her mission in space, after experiencing something she never could have imagined. Returning to her husband Drew (Stevens), she is left to wonder what to do next. One more mission, which would include 18 months of training, or to start a family.
Lucy is also struggling to connect back to reality after her time in space, seeing her trying to hold everything together on Earth, shows just how much this experience meant to her.
Thoughts on Lucy in the Sky
Characters & Performances
Lucy is an astronaut who has returned from space after a long stint up there. she doesn’t feel comfortable being back on Earth, she starts losing sense of reality. As she looks to desperately get back into space. Which will see her start to see her marriage fall apart with her decision making. Natalie Portman brings this character to life, showing how somebody who has seen her life changed from her experience in space.
Mark Goodwin is a fellow astronaut who could be working on the latest mission with Lucy. He is divorced and starts getting involved in an affair with Lucy, using his lady’s man position to get the women he wants. Jon Hamm is great as the ladies man astronaut always looking smooth through each situation.
Erin is a new rival astronaut in training, she is learning from Lucy, despite being a rival for the spot on the next mission. Drew is the husband of Lucy who is just an all around nice guy, always supporting her career and being there for her. Blue Iris is the niece that has been left with Lucy. She is taught to idolise he, learn from her and improve herself like Lucy. We meet a lot of other astronauts who have worked with Lucy or are against her, with the whole cast doing a very good job through the film.
Story
The story here follows an astronaut who is struggle to get everything back to reality after her time in space. Seeing her life start to spiral out of control as her chance to return to space start to disappear. This is a story that will offer plenty of interest as we get to see just how hard to return to Earth and adjusting back to life is. We seem to go through a form of mid-life crisis. Which has shown the lost of identity that Lucy is going through. This is a story which does feel longer than it needs to be, dragging along to get the big message.
Themes
Lucy in the Sky is a sci-fi drama that will look at the changes someone will go through after their time in space. It is all about how life might change if they can’t re-adjust to life back home. The NASA setting shows us the intensity of the training, while showing us just how calm the learning curve will be.
Final Thoughts – Lucy in the Sky is a nice drama, showing the harsh reality of the recovering from space mission.