So I decided to rewatch the movie, "Lucy," starring Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman. I remember watching this one when it first came out in theatres and being blown away. I am also someone who is very intrigued by anything involving the brain in general so naturally this was appealing. This movie is written and directed by Luc Besson, who wrote, "The Fifth Element," which I was a huge fan of back in the day so it makes sense why this film is so great. Keep in mind, like in my previous blogs, my critiques or whatever you want to call them, should be taken with a grain of salt. At the end of the day they are an opinion. I base my view mostly on structure and my screenwriting background and try to keep my blogs as unbiased as possible ( not trying to favor one actor/writer/director, etc over another) and also these are all films I like so there's that.
I am very fascinated by the plot of this film. There is another film that was produced in 2011 called, "Limitless," which starred Bradley Cooper and was directed by Neil Burger that I loved. I feel like this movie has a similar theme, at least in hypothesizing the idea of someone's ability of increasing their brain functionality/capacity. (I will probably write another blog about that film down the road).
So the writing especially is so layered in this film it's pretty phenomenal to say the least. And the way the were able to capture the vision of the screenplay on the production/post-production side is unbelievable. You can tell Luc Besson is a brainiac. This movie is so well done. I can see that the theme "ignorance is bliss" while writing this. I definitely got the vibe from watching this again. I think anyone who is very intelligent can testify that being very smart can have it downfalls. (not speaking for myself, just in general).
But I do like the way the use of the street drug was woven into the storyline. She basically becomes a victim of very unfortunate circumstances and is forced to go on this journey. I certainly wouldn't wish this on anyone in real life but in a drama or suspense thriller it really works. When it comes to screenwriting, the higher the stakes the better and the stakes are incredibly high. She is basically in fear for her life the entire movie and it can't help but keep you on the edge of your seat.
I think she did a great job with the character Lucy. She did a great job of keeping her composure and having a such a detached reaction to her circumstances. Pretty sure the average person forced to be in a situation like that would never be so level headed (pretty sure I wouldn't be). Not only is she in fear of dying the entire time from this drug in her system but she also has the mob to contend with. So needless to say not exactly a stress free environment. I really love the visual effects as well. The shots inside the body showing the body's reaction to the drug and everything else in between. It's exciting to see the evolution of her journey as the drug affects her more and more and her brain capacity gets stronger and stronger.
I also like how Morgan Freeman's character (the professor), theorizes the possibilities of the human brain and it's capacities and how the storyline weaves through that. It's interesting how they layered the two. You learn with him how these things, which for years were just hypothesized are being proven in front of his eyes. I think anyone in the industry would appreciate that whether you're a writer/producer/director, etc.
So without going overboard with this blog I like pretty much everything about this film. It was so well shot, very visually stimulating, the journey as the viewer is amazing. I was always a science nerd in high school, so without being redundant it's cool to see how they explained the science of the reaction of the drug visually. I also believe in God and do believe the two intermingle if you want to say. The scene towards the end when he looks at the phone after someone asking where she is, could hypothetically be a symbol of "God," when it says "I am everywhere." But I may be really reaching on that one. Anyway, I love this movie, great cast, very exciting and would recommend it to anyone,
P.S. Also the parts when you see the monkey named Lucy and and when she interacts with the monkey later on in the movie are bad ass!!! I love monkeys! And animals in general.. :)
Any questions/comments!?
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