There are plenty of aspects to this story that are not all that new. This comes at a cost of the parents of both, the media, and others all interfering in how well these two can not only be together, but work on being the people they have the potential to be. A police officer with political ambitions (which he is being pushed into by his father, played by Danny Glover), Kaz saves Noni’s life and the two instantly form a bond. The stress hits her hard enough to push her to near suicide. Noni is a singer who is just starting to hit super-star status, but is conflicted by this life she has been pushed into by her mother (Minnie Driver). The story is focused on Noni (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and Kaz (Nate Parker).
Now the film is available on Blu-ray, with a great technical presentation, a director’s cut, and a commentary that only hints at the hard work it took to get this film made. All of this and it barely breaks even (depending on marketing costs). It is not necessarily the best film of the year, but it is a well-made, original feature film, working with some tried but true story ideas, with strong performances pushing it even further up.
Regardless, Beyond the Lights received very strong reviews and an Academy Award nomination to top off its acclaim. It received some marketing this past fall, but not a huge campaign, and it was not screened for critics. The film is a romantic drama that happens to feature black actors in the lead roles. Beyond the Lights is the kind of film that I wish could be a part of the conversation, when it comes to changing how Hollywood does things.