Beyond the Lights is a 2014 American romantic drama film directed and written by Gina Prince-Bythewood. The film stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver, Machine Gun Kelly, and Danny Glover. The film premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2014, and was released theatrically in the United States on November 14, 2014. In 2015, the song Grateful was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Plot

In 1998 in London, a young Noni Jean is taken by her mother Macy to a salon to get her hair done before her performance at a talent contest. Noni is happy to win second place for her performance of Nina Simone s Blackbird , but her mother refuses to accept anything but first place and forces Noni to smash her trophy on the ground.

In the present, Noni Jean is a hot new artist who has just won a Billboard Music Award for her collaboration with her boyfriend Kid Culprit and is primed for superstardom. However, the pressures of success cause her to nearly end her life by falling off a hotel balcony. She is saved by a young police officer, Kaz Nicol. Noni s team, including her mother, tells the media in a press conference that she fell by accident. Kaz, who has political ambitions, is not happy to be forced to lie to the media, and is initially cold to Noni. However, he later apologizes to her. Gradually, they connect and begin to fall in love, despite her mother s disapproval. Noni tells Kaz about the songs she has secretly written, and he is supportive of her creative ambitions. Noni decides to end the romantic relationship with Kid Culprit that her team has encouraged.

In spite of her team s attempt to cover it up, rumors persist that Noni attempted suicide, and her label tells Macy (who is also Noni s manager) that her record contract is conditional on a successful upcoming performance. However, during the performance, Kid Culprit suddenly humiliates her and lies about their relationship, and Kaz punches him on stage in defense of Noni. Following this, Noni loses her record contract and is at a low point emotionally, so Kaz takes her on a trip to Mexico away from the spotlight where they enjoy each other s company. Noni gets rid of her old hairstyle in favor of her natural hair, and a trip to a local karaoke bar leads to Noni giving an emotional performance of Blackbird. The performance is uploaded to the internet and goes viral, causing Noni s mother and the paparazzi to find her. Macy tells Noni that the viral success of her performance has caused her record label to reconsider, and Noni agrees to return home. Kaz tells Noni he is not convinced that anything will be different than it was before, and their relationship is put on pause.

Noni wants to add a song she has written to her upcoming album, but Macy refuses. The two fight about their relationship and Noni tells her mother that even after her suicide attempt, Macy continued to focus only on her career to the detriment of her happiness and mental health. Noni fires Macy as her manager. Meanwhile, Kaz has begun a political campaign and reflects on whether his career should take precedence over his personal happiness. Inspired by Kaz s honesty, Noni gives a television interview where she admits to having attempted suicide and says she is getting help. Noni prepares for her first live performance in London, and shortly before going onstage suddenly encounters Kaz, who has taken a flight there and expresses his love for her. Noni performs a song she has written to an enthusiastic audience. She brings Kaz onstage, tells him that she loves him too, and they embrace.

Cast

• Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Noni Jean
• Minnie Driver as Macy Jean
• Nate Parker as Kaz Nicol
• Danny Glover as Captain David Nicol
• Machine Gun Kelly as Kid Culprit
• Aisha Hinds as J Stanley
• Jordan Belfi as Steve Sams
• Hayley Marie Norman as Shai
• Tom Wright as Reverend Brown
• Jesse Woodrow as Carl
• Jasmine Vargas as the waitress in the night club

Production

On August 15, 2013, Relativity Media bought the worldwide rights to the film, originally titled Blackbird. Relativity Media also financed and distributed the film. Ryan Kavanaugh produced along with Stephanie Allain. On December 6, 2013, Relativity set the film for a November 14, 2014 release date.

Casting

Three stars—Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, and Danny Glover—were already in the ensemble cast on August 15; Raw played Noni Jean, a new singer. Parker played Kaz Nicol and Glover played Captain David Nicol. On September 25, 2013, Minnie Driver and Machine Gun Kelly also joined the cast; Driver played Noni s mother Macy Jean while Machine Gun Kelly played Kid Culprit, a rapper.

Filming

Principal photography commenced on August 21, 2013, in Los Angeles.

Soundtrack

Relativity Music Group released a soundtrack album for the film on November 10, 2014, which features the original song Grateful , written by Diane Warren and performed by Rita Ora. Three songs featured in the film but absent from the soundtrack are Beyoncé s Drunk in Love, India.Arie s I Am Light and Amel Larrieux s Don t Let Me Down as they already appear on each artist s respective albums.

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 83% based on 93 reviews, with an average rating of 6.70/10. The website s critical consensus reads: Thanks to smart direction and a powerhouse performance from Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Beyond the Lights transcends its formulaic storyline to deliver thoroughly entertaining drama. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews . Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of A on an A+ to F scale.

The Hollywood Reporter praised Mbatha-Raw s performance as incandescent and Prince-Bythewood s script for its surprising integrity. Hitfix said the film s excellence showed that writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood isn t working enough, while Variety called it messy but undeniably entertaining.

Accolades

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2014	Gotham Awards	Best Actress	Gugu Mbatha-Raw	Nominated
	Capri, Hollywood	Rising Star	Gugu Mbatha-Raw	Won
2015	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Motion Picture		Nominated
		Outstanding Actor	Nate Parker	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actor	Danny Glover	Nominated
		Outstanding Directoring	Gina Prince-Bythewood	Nominated
	Black Reel Awards	Best Film	Beyond the Lights	Nominated
		Best Director	Gina Prince-Bythewood	Nominated
		Best Actor	Nate Parker	Nominated
		Best Actress	Gugu Mbatha-Raw	Nominated
		Best Screenplay, Adapted or Original	Gina Prince-Bythewood	Nominated
		Best Original or Adapted Song	Diane Warren Grateful	Nominated
		Outstanding Original Score	Mark Isham	Nominated
	International Online Film Critics Poll	Best Actress	Gugu Mbatha-Raw	Nominated
		Best Original Song	The Dream Masterpiece	Nominated
	Academy Awards	Best Original Song	Diane Warren Grateful	Nominated

Year	2014
ReleaseDate	2014-11-14
RuntimeMins	116
RuntimeStr	1h 56min
Plot	The pressures of fame have superstar singer Noni on the edge, until she meets Kaz, a young cop who works to help her find the courage to develop her own voice and break free to become the artist she was meant to be.
Awards	Nominated for 1 Oscar, 4 wins & 26 nominations total
Directors	Gina Prince-Bythewood
Writers	Gina Prince-Bythewood
Stars	Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver
Produced by	Stephanie Allain,Matt Alvarez,Marc Ambrose,Jason Beckman,Reggie Rock Bythewood,Jason Colodne,Ken Halsband,Ryan Kavanaugh,Ryan Kohler,Chris Lemos,Amar e Stoudemire,Sharon Tomlinson,Tucker Tooley,Samantha Waite
Music by	Mark Isham,Jon Mills
Cinematography by	Tami Reiker
Film Editing by	Terilyn A. Shropshire
Casting By	Aisha Coley
Production Design by	Cecilia Montiel,Hannah Purdy Foggin
Art Direction by	Nick Ralbovsky,Jenny Ray
Set Decoration by	Lori Mazuer
Costume Design by	Sandra Hernandez
Makeup Department	Michele Baylis,Stacey Morris,Jonathan Seti
Production Management	Ken Halsband,Trent Hara,Victor Ho,Madalena Hudson,Christopher Kulikowski,Bryson Pintard,Pascal Vaguelsy
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Richard L. Fox,Sebastian Mazzola,Shawn Pipkin
Art Department	Bonnie Betancourt,Brian S. Childs,Jeremy Cisneros,Stephen Gibson,Gerald Lehtola,Maya Levy,Timberly Matonic,Brian Murray,Brendan O Connor,Prentice Randolph,Brett V. Shirley,Thomas Spence,Michael Sunga
Sound Department	Javier Bennassar,Colette D. Dahanne,Jesse Ehredt,Art Espinosa,Justin Herman,Tim Limer,David Parker,Leslie Shatz
Visual Effects by	Kenneth Armstrong,Tim Carras,Joshua D. Comen,Sean Coonce,Brian Cuartero,Chelsea Goodchild,Patricio Harris,Melissa Huerta,Josh Shuman
Stunts	Matt Emig,Paul Leonard,Greg Rementer,Matthew Rugetti,Monty L. Simons,Justin A. Williams
Camera and Electrical Department	Sarah Brandes,Eric C. Castro,Cliff Charles,David Eubank,R. Dana Harlow,Thatcher Kelley,Tommy Maddox-Upshaw,Johnny Medeiros,Myron Parran,Paul J Harvey,David Schmalz,Maxwell Thorpe,Alpheus Underhill
Casting Department	Kristan Berona,Msaada Nia
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Judy Bohning,Lisa Marie Evans II,Melia Ford,Silvia Raiano,April K. Watkins
Editorial Department	Stratton Farrar,Jeremy Goodman,Kenneth Marsten,Julian McDougald,Adam Nazarenko,Aziza Ngozi,Mark Sahagun,Darin Wooldridge
Location Management	Jaime Abarca Jr.,Samantha-Jane Hunt,Adam Keller,Eric Petersen
Music Department	Bob Bowen,Ian Broucek,Allison Cantor,Jason La Rocca,Joseph Magee,Jason Markey,Adam McInnis,Julia Michels,Jennifer Nash,Tyler Parkinson,Del Spiva,Amanda Krieg Thomas,Gerald White,Devona Williams,Justine von Winterfeldt
Script and Continuity Department	Renetta G. Amador,Kris Smith
Transportation Department	Ronnie A,Daren Bojarski,Gary Compton,Erik Coutts,Scottie Fao,Larry Fee,Stan Mataele,Miki Mcgoro,Jack Jay Reece,George Sacks,Ken Sale,Niu Sale,Eric Sherman,Matt Sprague
Additional Crew	Maame-Yaa Aforo,Amy Banks,Raymond W. Beal,John Blair,Armando Boquiren,Stephanie Bradford,Bridgett Buss,Jules Carideo,Eden Cohen,Ruth Ann Crudup-Brown,Dawn Darfus,Alyssa Feener,Grace Flagg,Sarah Himmelstein,Beth Hintermeier,Cheri Jacobs,Jess King,Stefón L.C.,Eloy Lara,Matt Leslie,Tali Lipa,Sheryl Main,John Malakoff,Melissa Morkus,Shannon Murray,Ali Naqvi,Jedrek Oquendo,Josh Reinhold,Santos P. Rodriguez,David Thrall,Cindy Villa,Jeff Maynard
Thanks	Aaron Broghamer,Kevin Ladson
Genres	Drama, Music, Romance
Companies	Black Entertainment Television (BET), Homegrown Pictures, Relativity Media
Countries	USA
Languages	English
ContentRating	PG-13
ImDbRating	6.8
ImDbRatingVotes	16565
MetacriticRating	73
Keywords	singer,sex symbol,domestic abuse,suicide attempt,public humiliation