25 must-see films playing at this year’s AFI Fest

Vox Lux

What’s the story?: A pop star (Natalie Portman) copes with her own identity and persona in the wake of tragedy associated with her music.

I’m a sucker for movies about pop stars, so director Brady Corbet’s Vox Lux already had me. The film is told in two halves with the first following Celeste (played by Tomorrowland’s Raffey Cassidy) dealing with a school shooting and writing a song to process it. Yet the masses respond to her song and, in turn, turn Celeste into a pop sensation who eventually morphs into Natalie Portman. When the film premiered at Toronto, the response was divided — with many preferring one version of Celeste over the other — but overall, people have seemed to enjoy the feature.

The first trailer certainly presents this as Portman’s movie despite being presented in the film’s second half. Like Celeste, Portman has been a star since her childhood, and it’s been amazing watching her develop into the Academy Award-winning star she is. It’ll be hard not to think there’s a bit of an autobiographical quality to this. The film also includes several original songs by Sia, and considering this year’s slate of music, it’ll be interesting to see if any of Vox Lux’s tunes are able to stick in people’s minds.