Lucy
It’s a bit reductive to call Luc Besson’s “Lucy,” his first promising action effort as a director since “The Messenger,” a little loopy, and pretty damn silly. More accurately, I believe I would describe it as bat-shit crazy, Looney Toons surreal action entertainment of the highest order. So, you know, arguably one of his best efforts along with “The Fifth Element” and “Leon the Professional.”
Besson has been largely absent from directing action films over the past decade or so, instead writing films like “The Transporter” and “Taken” franchises. What happened? I’m sure the financial disappointment of “The Messenger” (his Joan of Arc epic) didn’t help, but I have a feeling 9/11 might have had an impact, as well, as it did on other great action directors (John Woo also swore off action films after that tragedy); why else would the director of the much-loved “The Professional” and “La Femme Nikita” quit? He returned to action with last year’s “The Family,” but from what I’ve heard from people who saw it, it wasn’t anything to write home about. “Lucy,” though, is a return to form for the French madman of action.
The film starts with Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) outside of an office building with the man she’s seeing. He has a delivery to make for some unsavory associates, but he’s trying to get her to do it instead, because he’s had a falling out with the people it’s supposed to be delivered to. He eventually gets the briefcase handcuffed to her wrist, and she’s forced to do the task. Suffice it to say, this isn’t just an easy drop, and no sooner is the briefcase opened (and Lucy’s male friend shot dead) than she’s carrying a bag of a potent new drug in her stomach for a Korean gangster (played by “Oldboy’s” Min-sik Choi, whose look at the beginning is very similar to Gary Oldman’s in “The Professional”). There’s a slight catch with this drug, though; it’s actually a synthetic version of a hormone we get when we’re in our mother’s womb that aids in development. To take it opens up access to the other 90% of our brain we don’t use on a daily basis. The early scenes are intercut with a lecture by a scientist (Morgan Freeman) discuss what might happen if people were able to access a higher proportion of our brain. He’s not sure, but he’s about to find out when the bag Lucy is carrying breaks, and her blood stream begins to absorb this drug. Needless to say, it’s quite a ride.
The first thing that needs to be said now that “Lucy’s” premise is established is that yes, the film is working from an easily-debunked scientific idea. We use more than 10% of our brains, and it’s the ways in which it is used that scientists don’t fully understand, as you can read about here. If you can’t get past that, I’d suggest skipping “Lucy” altogether. If you can, buckle up, because Besson has the loopiest sci-fi thriller in store since his 1997 favorite “The Fifth Element,” and he’s going to milk it in unbelievable, and kind of wonderful, ways. It’s like an episode of the recent reboot of “Cosmos” with terrible science, but the same enthralling sense of wonder and curiosity about the possibilities of scientific discovery. Again, though, keep in mind that the science is awful. Trust me, though– you won’t care one lick.
In Johansson, Besson has a genuine collaborator, and the actress throws herself over completely to the director, going along with this ridiculousness because come on, when you see “La Femme Nikita,” “The Professional,” and even “The Fifth Element,” it’s hard not to see that this director loves women who can kick ass, but is also capable of giving them genuine feeling to play, as well. Natalie Portman’s orphaned teen in “The Professional” is still his gold standard, but there’s a scene after the hormone begins to take effect in Lucy where she calls her parents that is kind of heartbreaking, and even some of the best acting I’d say Johansson’s ever done. She plays this premise honestly, and it’s a great showcase for the actress’s undervalued range, to say nothing of an opportunity for her to unleash a little Black Widow awesomeness, as well. I don’t want to say she’s Oscar worthy, necessarily, but I wouldn’t mind if she ended up in the conversation.
Really, though, this film belongs to Besson, who brings the action absurdity with a confidence that is impossible to fake. Using stock footage to make some of the beats in this story even clearer, the complete lack of subtlety that really sinks something like the last “Transformers” film here works to “Lucy’s” advantage, probably because we’re seeing something fresh and thrilling, centered on character instead of non-stop mayhem (although the car chase in the second half of this movie? really flippin’ cool). The cinematography, editing, music (by Eric Serra, whose distinctive voice has been as sorely missed from action films as Besson’s), and visual effects work to deliver some really surreal images and experiences that would make one’s brain explode if we were asked to use more of it. With a film like “Lucy,” is there really a higher compliment?
