BY WINNIE McCROY | Teenagers, they’re the worst! Director Julius Onah presents the story of Luce, an Eritrean child soldier adopted by rich white folks. He overcomes his nightmarish past to become the embodiment of an All-American teen—the popular valedictorian track star and lead debater, with a winning smile. At least until someone gets in his way.

Kelvin Harrison Jr. does a fine job portraying a good kid who none would suspect wielded a machine gun long before he ever drove a car. Trophies weigh down the shelves of his parents’ (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) posh home, and only Mom—or Amy, as Luce calls her whenever he seeks leverage—remembers years spent in therapy and unbridled rage, hiding under the bed from his ghosts. Ten years later, Mom expects perfection from her passion project, and Luce never disappoints.

“Luce is one of our best,” says Ms. Wilson (Octavia Spencer), the teacher Amy dubs “stern,” but Luce and dad (the poor man’s Christoph Waltz) call “a bitch.” She’s doing her best on her meager income, dealing with her sister, Rosemary, fresh out of rehab.

Alabama-bred Ms. Wilson prepares her charges for a world always ready to step on, or even gun down, a black boy. After Luce turns in an assignment advocating violence, Ms. Wilson searches his locker and finds dangerous fireworks. Instead of booting Luce out, as when she found marijuana in his teammates’ locker, Ms. Wilson calls his parents.

“We care a great deal about his success,” she says, telling Amy. “Due to the current social climate and school security, you can understand my concern.”

Luce’s teacher begs his parents to talk to their son, but dad is blasé, and mom demurs, saying, “What we’ve built, that trust, I won’t risk it.”

Luce sidesteps this neatly, delivering to Ms. Wilson a not-very-veiled threat about his love of Independence Day and fireworks, with a fixed smile reminiscent of those stuck in The Sunken Place, in Jordan Peele’s Get Out.

This mask is what Luce hides behind, becoming what everyone else wants him to be. Luce’s early education has made him a master manipulator, and even as he speechifies that in America (“We can be who we choose”), he knows that’s not really true. He admits feeling suffocated, but that doesn’t stop him from systematically destroying anyone in his way, with a smile.

At some point, dad urges them to do what’s right—Ms. Wilson will surely lose her job, and people might have gotten hurt. But it’s gone too far, and Amy will not see her son brought down.

With everyone kissing Luce’s perfect ass, it’s nice to see Ms. Wilson spit the truth, telling Luce, “America puts you in a box, and it’s tight and dirty and it lets in only so much light.” But teenagers, they know everything already.

Adapted with JC Lee from his own play, Luce is a tale about what happens when everyone does what they think is right, but shit still turns out messy. Creating no clear-cut champions or villains, Onah allows the viewer to sympathize. These characters could be anyone, even you. Even your smart aleck teenager.

–Runtime: 109 minutes

–Directed by Julius Onah

–Screenwriters: JC Lee, Julius Onah

–Thurs., 5/2 at Regal Cinemas Battery Park; 12:15pm, Sat., 5/4 at Village East Cinema

The 18th annual Tribeca Film Festival happens April 24 through May 5. Venues include Chelsea’s SVA Theatre, Regal Cinemas Battery Park, Village East Cinema, BMCC TPAC, and the Tribeca Festival Hub. For info, and to order tickets, visit tribecafilm.com or call 866-941-3378. Matinee screenings are $12, evening and weekend screenings are $24, Tribeca Talks and Tribeca Immersive tickets are $40, and Tribeca Cinema360 tickets are $15. Discounted packages are available. Free Film Friday (free film screenings) is May 3. Twitter: twitter.com/tribeca. Facebook: facebook.com/tribeca. Instagram: instagram.com/tribeca. Hashtag: #Tribeca2019.

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