Meh. I love Portman and Jude Law in a role that requires acting= always welcome, b/c he's great- but this film isn't about anything and sequenced poorly. The school shooting scene was one of the most remarkable and disturbing I've ever seen, unfortunately, it goes south from there. Nobody turns into somebody turns into A-hole,nothing to like about that. Also, why would you have a 20+minute segment of Portman's character performing on stage? They did like a whole set of music? Stupid. This almost feels like 3 different short stories smashed together to poor effect.

This movie is in competition for worst ever. What's worse then callously exploiting the school shooting epidemic? Using it for a very long vapid, lifeless pop music promotional video. And there's lots of dead air, silence as to convey gravitas. I can't tell which performance was more wooden, Natalie Portman as Padme or this. At at least you could say in the first one she was portraying a clone. And the music is typical Sia: overwrought, "epic" trash. Worst thing I've witnessed in a long time. That's the most noteworthy thing about it.

It's one of those movies where you wonder if she died in the beginning and the rest are her last thoughts before dying. I wonder if the narration by Willem DaFoe was tacked on last minute to try to pull the film together with some message. Not sure what it was. All I know is we better do everything to stop school shootings or we'll be inundated with very mediocre drug-addled pop stars. I mean if anyone survives. From the poster I was thinking it would be more like a rock opera. I was expecting Phantom of the Paradise or Hedwig and the Angry Inch. This was not that. No sense of humor at all. Passed the time but not essential.

Lots of vague ideas about "culture" are raised but by the midway point it becomes clear that the movie has little to say about anything. Its just a beautifully photographed vanity project.

Those who rated this poorly, clearly didn't get the deeper meaning: america as a pop culture figure, the "performance" of america in light of the tragedies since 2001, how "america" is an idea being sold to the world rather than the truth of what it really is, america not holding itself accountable and tackling the tough truths of what it really means to live in here. how the performance of freedom and liberty is just as evil as the terrorism we see so fiercely fight against.

This is a whole lot of movie with a lot of holes in its logic and through-line, including that Bronx accent Celeste seems to have acquired once Natalie Portman enters as an addled mother who is also an arena spectacle as a pop star with a serious drug problem. The people who were around young Celeste (played wonderfully by the lovely Raffey Cassidy) have oddly not aged (manager, agent) when they're around the adult Celeste played by Natalie Portman, who chews the scenery up but in the end delivers a strangely intense song and dance in concert. Flashy kaleidoscopic montages act as time-frame transitions as Celeste matures, and they actually work.

Started hot... then they went to Germany and it became like any other fictitious rock star film. Thankfully, it reroutes... but sadly returns to a typical fictitious rock star film. What it did was keep my attention and make me curious enough to see how it ends. And then nothing happens. And more importantly, it left me not knowing what exactly happened.

The worst 01 hour: and 50 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The worst of Natalie Portman ever!!!!!!!!!!!

Is there anything more vapid and self-indulgent than a film about the celebrity of celebrities? Mind you, I adore Natalie Portman and her performance in and of itself is outstanding, but the film itself is weak, aimless and an ode to narcissism. I tried watching a taped version and wound up zipping through most of it, so i'm not sure I can give a totally objective view, but that should tell you all you need to know.

Spoilers: I'm Ga-Ga over Lady Nat-Nat! Talk about inhabiting a role, of Celeste, of selling out, in her black dance outfit reminiscent, on purpose for sure, of her in balletic "Black Swan." She, again dancing sexily in 2004's "Closer" with another star in this, real pro Jude. But her smart mouth and attitude in Vox Lux, The Voice of Light in Latin, named Celeste, meaning heavenly in French, and a Long Island accent were so spot-on for the role. Let the singing voice shine the light from heaven? Now? Is this really surrender, existential dancing around and singing with a gimmick format in a chaotic world? Are our values now degraded to that? Was she Ga-Ga and Madonna? As much spectacle and image as artistry? You need a gimmick? At first, I almost stopped watching. It seemed to have poor sound and filming, and be a hackneyed crack at: Life is tough after a school shooting even if you survive it, a young teen, Raffey as Celeste, turning to dancing and singing, pushed along partly by her survival status. Next thing, she hit the big time and turned into jaded Natalie later, and this film took off, and oddly, Raffey playing Celeste turned around and played older Celeste's daughter, Albertine. The always good Jennifer had a limited role. So the story really lurched into a soap opera about Celeste's messing up dealing with performing and fame and fortune and drugs and booze. But the how and beauty of her performance at the end was so good, you could ignore the songs, some kind of nondescript techno pop (some by Sia), as Natalie also advised teenie bopper girls on up to be themselves, not to be used, a message as old as Alice Cooper's "school's out forever" and Sinatra who "did it my way," and older. The subtext of it all is: Did Celeste really survive that school shooting or did it haunt her forever and lead to her self-destructiveness? We know it bugged her, as Natalie snapped off to reporters the minute details of her neck injury with a bullet still lodged in there after decades, and pain a part of life. The chaotic world was emphasized by the 9/11 plane attacks on the Trade Center, then 16 years later, four gunmen opening fire on beachgoers in Croatia. Let's dance and sing techno pop and listen to it because who knows when the next bullet gets us in this chaotic world? Just, Natalie forever, as that acting, singing, dancing IS real entertainment. Corbet pulled it off, threaded the needle that Celeste was a satire of a world gone at least half mad, but stood today in the film as good entertainment by Natalie. It seems that the human race has miles to go before we sleep in our rugged and ragged march from the cave to the ivory tower.

This film is incredible and severely underrated. It's a tragic story of trauma and the dark side of fame. Celeste may be unlikable to the casual viewer but in reality she's an extremely caring woman, who suffers from savvier mental health problems and unintentionally causes pain to her loved ones as a result. Natalie Portman is absolutely fantastic as Celeste, as moving as her performance in Black Swan. The true star is Raffey Cassidy though, who plays young Celeste for the first half of the film and then her daughter Albertine for the second. Brilliant young actress.

This is a character sketch that tries to draw sympathy for the main character, but never dares to say anything about right or wrong, or what should change. The drama is ruined by the voice over that pulls you out of the action at certain points and gives plot details. It's especially disappointing since a few lines of creative dialogue could have carried the story without interruptions. It's a shame that these interesting performances (I didn't even recognize Jude Law until I looked him up - he's impressive) and three-dimensional characters are wasted on this movie with nothing to say.

It's a 'pretty' film that never went anywhere. The best part was the opening scene. And the songs were really bad.

5.0/10 — "Poor"/"Inferior"/"Amateurish"

This movie is for the strong of heart, but as a work of art it is brilliant. Many times throughout, when it would get almost too uncomfortable to watch, the pure depth and artistry of it kept me invested, and I had to really keep this in perspective as I went along. It shows the destruction of innocence, exposing the rot of our culture and its impact. Some might not want to look at it in such stark terms, or may really miss that point entirely if they aren't watching it thoughtfully because *most* of the ways that this child is failed by her culture happens so subtly. For example, you see the way the young protagonist is struggling with PTSD from the trauma of the school shooting, but no one around her even thinks about getting her help or talking to her about this, leaving her to struggle without the tools to process her trauma. You see how, at every turn, every adult who is in a position to guide and protect her, as the song she was made famous for so desperately asks of them, is too disconnected from common sense to step in in any meaningful way, thrusting her into an adult world before developmentally ready, without the agency of an adult, subjected to manipulations, and leaving her to be used as a product. You do see her agent at one point trying to stick up for her in this. You see he means well. But he is totally out of his depth in what it means to care for a kid in his world, leaving you to ask where her parents are in all of this. The cut between the beautiful young girl in the first half of the movie who clearly has something so so special and worthy of protection and the second half of the movie showing the adult version of her having been completely hollowed out and turned vapid is shocking. Other reviewers complained about this and it is hard to watch, not having eased us into it, the transition naturally playing out. But if the contrast doesn't make sense to them then they clearly weren't paying attention in the first half of the movie to all of the ways she was set up to be hollowed out and disconnected, having had no other option but to turn off and detach from her more sensitive emotions in order to keep going and perform according to expectations. The fact that they cut so far ahead to shock you with this contrast of character was a bold move, but I respect the hell out of it. This move asks us to do the work of answering for ourselves, "How the hell did this happen!" -A question for which all of the answers are there in the first half of the movie. We just have to clear the cobwebs from our culturally numbed brains to really see it, which, I believe, was the point of this movie. So, very well done. One last thing, this movie sticks to you. I can't 'unsee' it. I think that that is another testament to a job well done for this movie. All-around, I urge you to watch it and to keep an open mind.

A spot lit, razor sharp, crosshair embossed transgression across the face and to the horizon of pop culture's titans in their failed ascension to the zenith of success. Portman is stellar surrounded by mammoth stars who feather her past brilliance. Rancidly saturated in truth of life while simultaneously plunging abysmally toward spiritual decay. Mashing the throttle of pure, unadulterated existence.

A Masterpiece that lives it´s story.

Easily one of the best movies I've seen. Incredibly suspenseful and visually simulating with a unique directing style while simultaneously highlighting incredibly relevant social issues. This is a realistic and sobering image that every single American needs to be painfully aware of and this movie does an amazing job of being entertaining, emotionally stimulating, and informative. The performance of Jude Law and Natalie Portman were mesmerizing. This is a movie for people who enjoy stories with unique complexities and juxtapositions. I think there is a very clear reason why this movie didn't get rated very well and it's because it addresses two major issues in our culture. One being the exploitation of the entertainment industry and two being the very real and necessary action on gun control but done so in a very objective way in which you don't necessarily feel like the opinion of the writers are being blatantly expressed. Criticism are the lack of character development between Celeste and her sister which seemed to be significant enough to show the progression of their estrangement over time. Beautifully done and highly recommend.

I love Natalie's work: like until this film,i wouls have said she could have played a "pterodactyl" with class...and even now,maybe the script and director are at fault. The cinematographer also shot this like iPhone out takes and the narrative lacks purpose and soul... Its painful and cringe worthy.. I don't know who is to blame but awfulness personified if you can take the light of natalie and make it poopy.

I couldn't finish this movie. It was absolutely riveting right up to the point it shifted to the main character being an adult. Once Portman stepped in the whole movie fell apart. To date I've had no problem with her acting, but this effort was atrocious. And to be fair I don't entirely blame her. The director must also have had a hand. The problem is the adult version of the protagonist seems to have no similarities to the younger version. It's like Portman and the Director made no effort to connect he two. It was like Portman acted the role in a complete vacuum and didn't even considered it needed to be linked back tot he younger Celeste. The result is jarring and 10 minutes into Portman's affront I turned it off. Jude Law's character is also obnoxious, but admittedly that is intentional. It did, however, make it easier to turn off. It's a shame really because the first half of he move showed so much promise and Raffey Cassidy's effort is noteworthy.