Hull Independent Cinema: VOX LUX

In 1999, teenage Celeste survives a violent tragedy. After singing at a memorial service,
Celeste transforms into a burgeoning pop star with the help of her songwriter sister (Stacy Martin) and a talent manager. Celeste’s meteoric rise to fame and concurrent loss of innocence dovetails with a shattering terrorist attack on the nation, elevating the young powerhouse to a new kind of celebrity: American icon, secular deity, a global superstar. By 2017, adult Celeste is mounting a comeback after a scandalous incident that derailed her career. Touring in support of her sixth album, a compendium of sci-fi anthems entitled “Vox Lux,” the indomitable, foul-mouthed pop saviour must overcome her personal and familial struggles to navigate motherhood, madness and monolithic fame in the Age of Terror.

In Brady Corbet’s second feature, following his 2015 breakout debut The Childhood of a Leader — winner of the Best Director and Best Debut Film prizes at the Venice Film Festival — Celeste becomes a symbol of the cult of celebrity and the media machine in all its guts, grit and glory. Featuring original songs by Sia, an original score by Scott Walker, and a transcendent performance by Natalie Portman, personifying and pummeling the zeitgeist, VOX LUX is an origin story about the forces that shape us, as individuals, nations, and gods.

Featuring Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Stacy Martin

Awards and Reviews
Venice Film Festival, Toronto Intl Film Festival, AFI Fest Official Selections

“The film creates a universe where fame crowds out humanity. You can’t stop thinking about it” – Rolling Stone

“Brady Corbet’s VOX LUX, with a big performance by Natalie Portman, is an audacious story about a survivor who becomes a star, and a deeply satisfying, narratively ambitious jolt of a movie.” – The New York Times

Certificate
VOX LUX is rated 15. Visit the BBFC website for full details (may include plot spoilers).