Luce is a scary but so is the world he's living in

‘No wonder you’re always so pleased with yourself‘-Harriet Wilson

After Luce writes an essay that takes a disturbing turn, his adoptive parents and his teacher start to question who he really is.

From the jump, Luce is the picture prefect student that you literally only see in movies, so I never trusted who he portrayed himself to be. But for everyone else his perfection is nothing to be questioned, because what’s better than an a child who you saved from a war torn country becoming the perfect son.

But Ms Wilson’s revelation causes his mother to start to see him differently and wonder who her son truly is.

Luce is so skilled at hiding who he is, that it’s difficult to trust anything he says and does. And that’s what makes him truly scary. Ms Wilson thinking that she, unlike everyone else, knows the real flawed Luce, still doesn’t stop her being fearful of him and his mind games.

In return he invades her personal life and uses that against her, but Ms Wilson is no stranger to overstepping her bounds.

As a black woman in America she is well aware of the hardships and obstacles in life and tries to teach this to her high school students. But her desire to educate minority groups from the obstacles they could face sees her oppress them herself, thinking she’s doing what’s best. This includes ruining DeShaun’s future athletic career after searching his locker and finding weed.

After each incident with Ms Wilson, the students turn to Luce, which is just another way Luce’s real personality is made a question mark. I would have loved to see more of the relationship between Luce and his fellow students to understand why they trust and confide in him because on paper (and on screen) the textbook perfect Luce and athletic jock DeShaun have no reason to be friends.

Wilson’s harsh tactics do see minority groups unite together to fight a common enemy, but they focus their energy on her rather than the systematic obstacles in America.

Ms Wilson and Luce have been impacted by the American system differently so take different approaches to combat it. Wilson through her teaching and Luce seemingly playing the game to change it from the inside.

But with each approach neither side successfully criticises the oppressive system. This film’s social message has become more prevalent than when then when the film was first released in 2019 or when J.C Lee’s original play came out in 2013. Generally, when media has a important social connotation, I think it causes people to automatically rank the film highly, but I still not convinced.

The way in which Luce and students like him are kept down by Ms Wilson doesn’t justify his actions. Making Harriet fear for her life Traumatising both her and her sister Mary, by exploiting Mary’s mental health does nothing to change the system. Using Mary's mental health struggles as a pawn in his master plan further made me question Luce and his motives. 

Or maybe the acting is what people truly enjoyed. Kelvin Harrison Jr., as Luce, effortless conveys his emotions, authentic or not, especially through his face that feigns innocence. Naomi Watts, as the concerned mother is always overcome with nerves as the tries to find out the truth between the tales Luce has told her.

Considering everything Luce shines light on important social issues in America but the battle between teacher and student takes focus.