Beyond the Lights

Beyond the Lights (2014) is an American drama and romance you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Noni Jean, a singer on the cusp of stardom whose public persona — the videos, the look, the image — has been engineered by her record label and her relentlessly ambitious mother (Minnie Driver) until almost nothing of herself remains.

One night in a Los Angeles hotel, Noni ends up on the ledge. The cop who talks her back in is Kaz Nicol (Nate Parker), a rising officer with his own political trajectory. What begins as a rescue turns into the one genuine connection Noni has had in years — which is exactly the problem. Her handlers see a liability; she sees the first person who has asked what she actually wants.

Prince-Bythewood wrote and directed the film with real feeling for the industry machinery grinding against a person trying to surface. Mbatha-Raw carries it on her own terms — this is a full performance, not a pop-star sketch. Watch Beyond the Lights (2014) online on iFILM.