美国国家公共电台 NPR Is This Star Student A Saint Or A Sociopath?: 'Luce'

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

How well do parents know their children or teachers their students? Critic Bob Mondello says the film "Luce" throws in some serious complications as it asked those questions about a class valedictorian.

BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE¹: We meet Luce as he's addressing a high school assembly in Northern Virginia, saying all the right things about a rosy² future and then asking his classmates to rise.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LUCE")

KELVIN HARRISON JR: (As Luce Edgar) And to take this opportunity to thank you, our teachers and our parents, for helping³ us become who we're meant to be.

MONDELLO: He is clearly practiced and comfortable in the spotlight⁴, popular with students and with teachers, despite a wrenching⁵ childhood in war-torn Eritrea before he was adopted and brought to the U.S. He is a success story, as the school principal never tires of saying.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LUCE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As principal) Here's my question. How do we clone this guy? How do we clone him? Great job.

HARRISON JR: (As Luce Edgar) Thank you.

MONDELLO: So Luce's adoptive mom is blindsided when one of his teachers calls her in for a conference about a paper he's written.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LUCE")

OCTAVIA SPENCER: (As Harriet Wilson) The class was given an assignment to write in the voice of an historical figure. Some students picked FDR at the start of the Great Depression or even Fidel Castro at the Bay of Pigs. The goal was to get them to think outside of the box - just want to make sure you understand where I'm coming from.

MONDELLO: She hands Luce's paper to his mom.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LUCE")

NAOMI WATTS⁶: (As Amy Edgar) Who is this Frantz Fanon?

SPENCER: (As Harriet Wilson) He was a Pan-Africanist revolutionary. He argued that violence was a necessary cleansing⁷ force, that it was needed to free colonized⁸ people from their rulers.

WATTS: (As Amy Edgar) You teach this.

SPENCER: (As Harriet Wilson) I don't. Look. I won't pretend to know what it's like for Luce to confront certain...

MONDELLO: Harriet Wilson sees Luce through a different lens than his parents do - a teacher's lens; affirmative, yes. But she was worried about this paper and even more worried about something else.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LUCE")

SPENCER: (As Harriet Wilson) I found this in his locker⁹.

MONDELLO: A paper bag.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LUCE")

WATTS: (As Amy Edgar) No.

SPENCER: (As Harriet Wilson) Amy.

WATTS: (As Amy Edgar) No, I'm sorry. I respect my son's privacy.

MONDELLO: Respect or no, seeds of doubt are now planted. She and her husband confront Luce and things quickly get heated.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LUCE")

HARRISON JR: (As Luce Edgar) We share lockers¹⁰. The guys on the team share lockers. I don't know what 90% of the crap at the bottom is let alone who it belongs to.

WATTS: (As Amy Edgar) So...

HARRISON JR: (As Luce Edgar) So not everything in my locker belongs to me.

WATTS: (As Amy Edgar) OK, good.

MONDELLO: Director Julius Onah and screenwriter J.C. Lee, on whose play the film is based, are focused on big themes, even as they deal with these specifics at hand - themes of racism¹¹, privilege, progressive ideals, the tendency to see what we want to see. Kelvin Harrison Jr. is fascinating as Luce, his eyes often registering very different emotions than his other features. And he's matched by Naomi Watts and Tim Roth as his adoptive parents, Octavia Spencer as the teacher consumed by doubt and then not.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LUCE")

SPENCER: (As Harriet Wilson) I know the difference between miscommunication and provocation¹². I can tell the difference between the two, Dan.

MONDELLO: Luce's champions see a model student, a star athlete, a kid for whom stuff found in a locker should count as a minor¹³ infraction¹⁴. But doesn't that make him as much a prisoner of their expectations as a classmate who's been labeled a loser and kicked out of school for having marijuana in his locker? So much here is in the eye of the beholder¹⁵. Depending on who you listen to, whose judgment¹⁶ you decide to trust, Luce could be either a paragon¹⁷ of virtue¹⁸ or a sociopath. And for a lot longer than you might expect, the film "Luce" manages to entertain both those possibilities.

I'm Bob Mondello.

(SOUNDBITE OF PROJECT SANDRO'S "BRAND NEW DAY")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

5 wrenching   

n.修截苗根，苗木铲根（铲根时苗木不起土或部分起土）v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的现在分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛

参考例句：

• China has been through a wrenching series of changes and experiments. 中国经历了一系列艰苦的变革和试验。 来自辞典例句
• A cold gust swept across her exposed breast, wrenching her back to reality. 一股寒气打击她的敞开的胸膛，把她从梦幻的境地中带了回来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

6 watts   

（电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦，我的烤面包器用600瓦。
• My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。

7 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

8 colonized   

开拓殖民地，移民于殖民地( colonize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The area was colonized by the Vikings. 这一地区曾沦为维京人的殖民地。
• The British and French colonized the Americas. 英国人和法国人共同在美洲建立殖民地。

9 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

10 lockers   

n.寄物柜( locker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I care about more lockers for the teachers. 我关心教师要有更多的储物柜。 来自辞典例句
• Passengers are requested to stow their hand-baggage in the lockers above the seats. 旅客须将随身携带的行李放入座位上方的贮藏柜里。 来自辞典例句

11 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

12 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

13 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

14 infraction   

n.违反；违法

参考例句：

• He was criticized for his infraction of the discipline.他因违反纪律而受到了批评。
• Parking at the bus stop is illegal,Motorists committing this infraction are heavily fined.在公交站停车是违法的，触犯此条的司机将受重罚。

15 beholder   

n.观看者，旁观者

参考例句：

• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 看起来觉得美就是美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It has been said that art is a tryst, for in the joy of it maker and beholder meet. 有人说艺术是一种幽会，因为艺术家和欣赏者可在幽会的乐趣中相遇在一起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

17 paragon   

n.模范，典型

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• Man is the paragon of animals.人是万物之灵。

18 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。