Vox Lux

 ( Official Website ) 

Vox Lux is a 2018 American Musical film drama film written and directed by Brady Corbet, from a story by Corbet and Mona Fastvold. The film stars Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin and Jennifer Ehle. The film is dedicated to director Jonathan Demme.

Vox Lux had its world premiere at the 75th Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2018, and was released in the United States on December 7, 2018, by Neon. The film received generally favorable reviews from film critics, and grossed $1.4 million on an $11 million budget.

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Plot

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Prelude In early January 2000, a boy named Cullen Active walks into his school in the Staten Island neighborhood of New Brighton, goes to an 8th grade class and shoots the teacher, Mrs. Dwyer. One student, 14-year-old Celeste Montgomery, calmly and compassionately talks to Cullen, and offers to pray with him. However, he shoots all the students and kills himself; Celeste is later seen to be in one of only three ambulances carrying survivors from the scene.

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Act 1: Genesis As she slowly recovers from her injuries, Celeste and her older sister, Eleanor, write music together. Soon afterward, at an event led by Father Cliff in memory of the shooting victims, Celeste sings a song that she and Eleanor wrote titled "Wrapped Up". The song becomes an instant hit and Celeste is soon picked up by a manager.

By April 2000, Celeste is recording an Extended play in New York City. Over the next 20 months, Celeste manages and navigates the increasing pressures of her newfound fame in spite of her past trauma. She and Eleanor indulge in bouts of partying that soon get in the way of Celeste's work, including Celeste being subject to sexual misconduct by an older musician and Eleanor having sex with Celeste's manager the night before the September 11 attacks. Nevertheless, Celeste continues to successfully rise in the music industry, with her songs getting quickly picked up by the radio and rushing the demand for her first music video, "Hologram (Smoke and Mirrors)".

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Act 2: Regenesis In 2017, a terrorist shooting on a beach in Croatia is rumored to be linked to Celeste's music due to the masks that the criminals donned, which are similar to the masks from Celeste's 2001 "Hologram" video.

Celeste is now 31 years old and preparing for the first night of a concert tour for her sixth album, Vox Lux. Her manager informs her of the terrorist shooting, and then tells her to prepare for the ensuing press junkets. Before her first interview, Celeste takes her teenage daughter, Albertine (conceived from the encounter with the musician), to lunch. Once there, Celeste unveils her erratic and destructive behavior, aided by alcohol, resulting in Celeste and Albertine getting kicked out of the restaurant by the manager. It is revealed that, six years prior, Celeste permanently blinded herself in her left eye due to consuming excessive amounts of methanol while binge-drinking household cleaning products. Celeste then drove under the influence across three state lines, injuring a man in his left leg and pelvis in the process, which resulted in a public lawsuit.

After lunch, Celeste has a heated argument with Eleanor after discovering Albertine has recently lost her virginity; Eleanor has been Albertine's guardian since her birth. The press interviews begin soon after, with Celeste becoming increasingly unhinged after one interviewer mentions the aforementioned driving incident. Her publicist decides to cancel the rest of the interviews scheduled that day and asks Celeste to rest before the concert. However, Celeste and her manager get high on drugs and have sex. That evening, an impaired Celeste heads for the concert venue with her entourage in tow. She then experiences a mental breakdown, with Eleanor successfully comforting her before sending her out.

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Finale Celeste appears ready for the concert and preps for the stage with her band and background dancers. She then performs multiple songs with elaborate dance numbers involved. It is revealed that after she was shot, Celeste told Eleanor that she made a deal with the devil for her life. Her manager, Albertine, and Eleanor pensively look on at the façade of a performing Celeste.

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Cast In addition, Willem Dafoe provides the narration.

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Production In August 2016, it was announced Brady Corbet would write and direct the film, with Christine Vachon, David Hinojosa and Brian Young producing the film under their Killer Films and Three Six Zero Group banners respectively. In September 2016, Rooney Mara joined the cast of the film, while Sia was hired to compose original songs for the film. In October 2016, Jude Law joined the cast of the film. In January 2017, Stacy Martin confirmed her involvement in the film. In January 2018, Natalie Portman joined the cast of the film, replacing Mara. In February 2018, Raffey Cassidy joined the cast of the film. In August 2018, it was reported that Sia would be contributing original songs and Scott Walker would be scoring the film. Speaking of his surprise involvement in the film, Willem Dafoe, who narrates the film, stated that “it was a very last-minute thing. I think Brady had another voice in there and he wasn’t quite happy with it, and at the last minute he had the idea to use me to be the narrator — which in terms of actual work isn’t a huge time commitment. It’s an important tonal element and framing device in the film. It’s a kind of go-between with the audience.” Willem Dafoe on Becoming Vincent  Van  Gogh: "You Want a Living Painting, Not a Museum Piece" Corbet has discussed the challenges of making the film, saying that "nobody asked for it" and he did not make any money from it.

Principal photography began on February 1, 2018. Portman said her performance was influenced by what she had observed in documentaries on pop stars, such as Madonna and Lady Gaga.

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Release Vox Lux premiered at the 75th Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2018. It also screened at the 43rd Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2018. Shortly after, Neon acquired distribution rights to the film. It was screened at the 29th New Orleans Film Festival on October 23, 2018. It was theatrically released on December 7, 2018 and on VOD by Universal Home Entertainment on March 5, 2019. Sales of its DVD/Blu-ray releases grossed $121,480.

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Reception

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Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads: "Intriguing albeit flawed, Vox Lux probes the allures and pitfalls of modern celebrity with sharp intelligence and visual style, all held together by an assured Natalie Portman performance." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted mean score of 67 out of 100, based on 39 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Guy Lodge of Variety praised Portman's performance and called the film "a bold, often brilliant trip through the celebrity spin cycle."

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Accolades

CinEuphoria Awards	2019	Best Supporting Actress - International Competition	Natalie Portman
		Best Screenplay - International Competition	Brady Corbet
		Best Costume Design - International Competition	Keri Langerman
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards	December 23, 2019	Best Actress	Natalie Portman
Guild of Music Supervisors Awards	February 6, 2020	Best Music Supervision for Films Budgeted Under 10 Million Dollars	Margaret Yen and Alison Litton
Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards	February 16, 2019	Best Contemporary Hair Styling - Feature-Length Motion Picture	Esther Ahn and Daniel Koye
Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival	2018	Best Film	Brady Corbet
London Critics Circle Film Awards	January 30, 2020	Young British/Irish Performer of the Year	Raffey Cassidy
Motovun Film Festival	2019	Best Film	Brady Corbet
Stockholm Film Festival	2018	Impact Award
Venice Film Festival	September 8, 2018	Golden Lion

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Soundtrack

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External links

Categories: Official Website, 2018 Films, 2018 Drama Films, 2018 Independent Films, 2010s American Films, 2010s English-language Films, 2010s Musical Drama Films, American Independent Films, American Musical Drama Films, Bold Films Films, Films About School Violence, Films About Singers, Films About Terrorism, Films Directed By Brady Corbet, Films Produced By Christine Vachon, Films Scored By Scott Walker, Films Set In 1999, Films Set In 2000, Films Set In 2001, Films Set In 2017, Films Set In Croatia, Films Set In Los Angeles, Films Set In Staten Island, Films Set In Stockholm, Films With Screenplays By Brady Corbet, Films With Screenplays By Mona Fastvold, Killer Films Films, Neon Films, English-language Independent Films, English-language Musical Drama Films, 2018 Musical Films

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