Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

There's something hypnotic about Gugu Mbatha-Raw's performance as Noni in Beyond the Lights. Her facial expressions are emotive without exaggeration. Subtle, yet powerful. Scared but brave. Maybe it is Gina Prince-Bythewood's direction-she turned a young Sanaa Lathan into a rugged tomboy who seemed every bit as tough, insecure, and compassionate as the moment required. Maybe it is the collaborative skills of Gina and Gugu that make this movie so unique. Whatever it is, it is undoubtedly the performances that carry a relatively basic story of a talented young girl with a tiger mom (played ferociously by Minnie Driver) that drives her to attempt suicide, only to be saved by a local police officer. It is the setup for a tired Cinderella trope, but Beyond the Lights is anything but. Beyond the Lights is as vibrant and refreshing as anything you have ever seen in the romance genre and one of the best films of 2014.Beyond the Lights, stunning cinematography captures the authenticity of the music world without ever feeling overly glitzy and glamorous in a way that makes you envy Noni's existence. Noni inhabits a world that feels as isolated as she feels inside. The shadowy vignette effect of the cinematography gives you the feeling that you are a voyeur in her life and her world only seems to open up when she escapes from the music industry with Kaz (Nate Parker). It is one of my favorite scenes in the movie, so I will not spoil it for anyone who has not seen the film. However, anyone who has, will understand how significant and touching it is to watch Noni reveal her true self to Kaz in their Mexico hideaway. It is this understanding of cinematic language that makes Gina Prince-Bythewood one of the most underappreciated auteurs in cinema. Her films are as visually enchanting as her stories. Beyond the Lights, brilliance comes in those small intimate scenes between Gugu and Nate, and it is here where you see Gugu shine against Parker's occasionally stoic character performance. This critique is not a knock against him, it works for the character of Kaz, but one could only imagine if he was directed to open up a little more, how powerful the film's climax would've been. However, it is this reluctance to go all in on their love that makes it feel authentic. One of my biggest complaints about non-biopic films about musicians is the quality of the songs. Beyond the Lights nails this too. Masterpiece-the opening song after the prologue-feels like any number of confectionary bops that could quickly end up in heavy rotation on your local FM station. You never doubt the that Noni is a star.Beyond the Lights does not follow the traditional path of romance films. While it feels like a Cinderella story, it is really about the rediscovery of a young woman's identity that has been stripped away by everyone around her who wishes to define her. Gina Prince-Bythewood uses Nina Simone's Blackbird as an allegory for Noni's inner pain, and Gugu's doe-eyed performance lights the way into Noni's heart. Beyond the Lights is a beautiful journey into the heart of a character that exists in a coldhearted world of objectification, manipulation, and violence. However, Noni manages to make you care so genuinely for her that you want to pull her out of that world and hold her close until she remembers that love is waiting on her if she only looks inside herself.

This is one of my favorite movies and I think that every aspiring musical artist should see this movie. This movie shows the stress and unhappiness that these artists goes through. The main character Noni was so unhappy with her life and felt that her was out of her control and she tried jumping off of a balcony until she was saved. This movie made me realize the saying "All that glitters is not gold" is very true. So many people want to be famous without realizing what they are actually putting theirselves through. Noni realizes that she needs to take time for herself to realize what is important. I would definitely give this movie ten stars and even though the movie is a year old, everyone should still find a way to see this movie.

I can't say that was ecstatic about seeing BEYOND THE LIGHTS because it just seemed like a 21st century update of THE BODYGUARD, but for what it's worth, despite being narratively uneven and weighed down with clichés, it still is a compelling portrait of what goes on behind the scenes of people who are in the public eye. It stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Noni Jean, a cookie-cutter pop star who specializes in the oversexed, over-produced crap that tops the charts these days. One night, after winning an award for her latest single, she attempts suicide but is saved by the officer (Nate Parker) assigned to protect her that evening. From that point, a romantic relationship develops between them as they each figure out how to break out of the mold that other people have tried to keep them in, and begin to think and act for themselves. On paper, that sounds pretty good generally speaking, the film does a good job exploring those themes. The real standout of the cast is Gugu Mbatha-Raw who brings a youthful quality and emotional honesty to a character who, initially, is asked to do a lot of degrading things for the sake of "image." Her mother, played by Minnie Driver, also does a great job as this domineering, controlling personality who micro-manages her daughter's life. One begins to wonder who exactly she wants the career and the fame for: her daughter or herself. It's because of these qualities that she is an extremely unlikeable character, yet there is one stripped down scene in which another, sweeter side is shown and you get a little back story on why she is the way she is. Nate Parker also acquits himself rather nicely, although he and his storyline about being an aspiring politician are mostly sidelined in favor of Noni, although to be fair she is the main character. It would have been nicer for the story to be a little more balanced in that regard, but the juxtaposition of his and Gugu Mbatha-Raw's characters was established well enough. Sadly, all is not well with the film. It succumbs to a lot of the narrative clichés that plague films revolving around music and romance. Fortunately, there is a segment about halfway in which a much-needed break is taken from it all, in which Noni and Kaz get some one-on-one time. There were also a handful of moments that made me laugh unintentionally, such as when Noni takes Kaz on his first flight and they make love to Beyonce's song "Drunk in Love." And then there's Noni's label partner and sort-of boyfriend Kid who was a collection of "white rapper" stereotypes who made me cringe every time he opened his mouth. Overall, the positive elements do outweigh the negative and the film delivers a satisfying story about being true to yourself.

This was a very refreshingly enjoyable movie. The two main characters are unique and have great chemistry. The story steps out of the cliché famous star/bodyguard/police story and actually draws the viewer into a romantic journey that we take with the characters. Being from the romantic genre, I was skeptical at first concerned it was going to be just another romantic movie without any substance but this movie is a credit to the romance genre in that it is truly inspirational and is well worth the watch. The two main actors are fantastic and I would definitely recommend this movie to those who love a good romance movie that has substance and heart. I really enjoyed this movie.