The rare Hollywood feature that is written and directed by a woman (Gina Prince-Bythewood), “Beyond the Lights” is an obvious, middling chick flick that moves far too slowly from each predictable plot point to the next. Parker’s role is much less showy but he also does subtly fine work, as the brainy LAPD officer with political ambitions who, for the sake of Noni’s image, is forced to play along with the fiction that she merely slipped off the balcony she was trying to jump off. But when she dumps her rapper boyfriend, plucks out her hair extensions and strips off her makeup, she’s appealingly down to earth, getting back to her torch-song roots by singing a slow Nina Simone tune a cappella. She essentially plays dual roles here: At times she’s a hip-hop force of nature - a tramp diva whose every move creates a spectacle. Depressed by the feeling she’s betrayed herself, she tries to jump off a balcony in the opening minutes, only to be rescued by a hunky cop (Nate Parker).Īs Noni, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who earlier this year starred in the period piece “Belle,” shows every sign of being a big star in the making. It’s a soapy tale about a poor, mixed-race London girl named Noni who, pushed by her domineering mother (Minnie Driver), grows up to be a superstar pop singer, albeit in the trashy mode of Nicki Minaj. The teary-eyed sincerity of the music-industry drama “Beyond the Lights” is at times too much, but despite its cliche elements, the film at least has the feel of a passion project.

At the E-Walk, the Kips Bay, the Magic Johnson, others

Beyond the lights