Luce: Naomi Watts in psychological thriller

The model minority is a demographic of racial minorities who are perceived as high achievers in education or work. It seems like a positive stereotype, after all – what’s so wrong with being seen as successful? But to be a model minority, one achieves success despite their race, instead of who they are as an individual. The minority is already assumed to be on a lower level than the rest of the population, and must excel in every aspect of life to be accepted.

Director Julius Onah rails against this concept with the provocative Luce, a clever dissection of the effect the myth has on a child refugee, who seemingly assimilates into life as an American. If the name sounds familiar – Onah was the director of the unfortunate misfire The Cloverfield Paradox, which received a sudden Beyoncé-type release on Netflix without warning immediately after the Super Bowl.

Adapted from the 2013 Off-Broadway play of the same name, Luce follows the titular teenager who creates a rift between his parents (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) and his teacher (Octavia Spencer) after he pens an essay that suggests he harbours a violent side.

Since it’s apparently impossible for Naomi Watts and Tim Roth to have a simple fictional marriage, Luce reunites the two actors after playing a couple terrorised by a pair of sociopaths in Michael Haneke’s home invasion thriller Funny Games. Kelvin Harrison Jr. joins Watts and Roth as their controversial adopted son, who continues to move in strides after his breakthrough role in It Comes at Night.

Critics have been dissecting and debating Luce since it premiered at Sundance Film Festival, while a public release is lined up for November. The battleground is set for a suspenseful crusade in psychological warfare – mind games and heated post-cinema trip discussions are inevitable.