Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Noni Jean is a hot new rising star. But not all is what it seems, and the pressure causes Noni to nearly fall apart - until she meets Kaz Nicol, a promising young cop and aspiring politician who's been assigned to her detail. Can Kaz's love give Noni the courage to find her own voice and break free to become the artist she was meant to be?
Beyond the Lights benefits enormously from Gugu Mbatha-Raw's committed, luminous performance and strong supporting work from Minnie Driver as the domineering stage mother. The plot follows a fairly familiar rise-and-redemption arc in the music industry with the romance as an anchor, offering little structural surprise. Cinematography is competent and warm but unremarkable. The ending resolves satisfyingly but predictably within genre conventions. Novelty is limited — the pressures-of-fame and find-your-authentic-voice story has been told many times, and while Gina Prince-Bythewood brings genuine care and heart to the material, the conception isn't particularly distinctive.