Whilst many consider the past couple of years the time of the McConaissance (a term coined to describe a great run by usually duff actor, Matthew McConaughey), I’d give the acting crown to the infallibly great Scarlett Johansson. Over the past couple of years, Johansson has given her best performances in consistently great films. She could be considered the princess of modern science fiction. Whether she’s the eery alien protagonist of arthouse masterpiece Under the Skin, or the warm, delectable voice of Samantha in Spike Jonze’s affecting Her, she refuses to let her audience down.
It should come as no surprise that Luc Besson chose her as the lead for his latest venture. Lucy marks the director’s closest crossover to science fiction to date, opening up an even bigger spectrum of ideas for his renowned female protagonists.
Forced by a friend to deliver a secret case to a Taiwanese mobster, a woman finds herself the subject of an experiment; an experiment that will transform her mental capacity to an uncontrollably powerful and dangerous level.
This is Besson in a delectably tacky manner. Lucy doesn’t take itself seriously and rides upon that. An indulgent trip, Besson sends his protagonist on visits across Europe as she tries to capture those who made her a human guinea pig. There are a lot of rather strange scenes of mind control; but whilst most directors would manage to make these incessantly cringe worthy, Luc Besson’s technique makes them indulgently bad ass. At times, Lucy is tongue in cheek. Take, for example, the moment Johansson enters an operating theatre, points a gun at the surgeons and demands they remove they cut out the drug from her intestine. She sits through it all rather comfortably, managing a call to her mother at the same time. Only Besson could make this feel more entertaining than crass.
As predicted, Scarlett Johansson gives another solid performance here. Although she’s not given a similar emotional spectrum to work on as she has previously, she fits the role with enough spark to make it difficult to see someone else fill her shoes. Morgan Freeman is well cast but, in the grand scheme of things, his role is rather typecast and forgettable. This will by no means, be remembered as one of his greatest performances.
It was never going to reach the slick heights of Leon, but Luc Besson’s freedom to work with a ‘what if?’ situation is a lot of admittedly flawed, riotous fun.
Lucy is released by Universal Pictures on DVD & Blu-Ray January 12th
Editor of Frowning.us (SSJA 2014 Student Publication of the Year) & Film Writer for The Edinburgh Reporter
