Beyond the Lights

The movie takes audiences from loud, sexy, music videos to the quietness of two people falling in love over a box of old song lyrics, all without missing a beat.

It's not enough to compel cynics like myself, but it will likely touch the heart of romantics everywhere.

You'll walk away from this film lighthearted and wanting to hold someone's hand.

In every scene here, Prince-Bythewood calmly and sensitively melts our resistance to the outlandish, outsized quality of her plot and stays true to the message she wants to deliver without ever getting pious or preachy.

Given its pedigree, its roster of talent, Beyond the Lights is disappointing.

Has the elements of a classic backstage story, but they don't quite crystallize into an integral drama.

A sense of déjà vu hangs heavy over the movie's every frame.

This quality drama about the all-consuming nature of fame desperately aspired to - and then precariously achieved - deserved to find a much wider audience upon original release.

What could have been a worn-out 'been there, done that' story in the hands of a lesser director, thanks to [Gina] Prince-Bythewood, there is an integrity and intelligence that elevates the characters and the film as a whole.

A showbiz romantic melodrama that could have maintained an all-too familiar narrative and tone if it weren't for the freshness of its perspective and a vibrant performance from lead Gugu Mbatha-Raw.