The film tells the story of a couple (Watts and Roth) forced to reconsider their marriage and their family after an extremely disturbing essay written by their adopted son (Harrison Jr.) is brought to their attention by his teacher (Spencer).

Luce had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2019, and was released in the United States on August 2, by Neon.

It received positive reviews from critics, who praised the cast's performances, Onah's direction, the writing, and the film's themes.

However, he has animosity towards his history teacher, Harriet Wilson, who got his friend DeShaun kicked off the running team after finding marijuana in his locker.

Amy meets with Harriet, who shows her Luce has written a paper about political revolutionary Frantz Fanon, arguing that colonialism can be overcome through violence.

When asked about his teacher, Luce accuses Harriet of harmfully singling out students, such as using Stephanie Kim, a Korean-American classmate rumored to have been sexually abused, as an example of a victim suffering in silence.

Rosemary arrives at the school looking for Harriet and has a breakdown, stripping naked in front of a crowd of students before she is tasered and apprehended by police.

Later, Luce gives a speech at school, thanking Amy and Peter for raising him and saying how lucky he feels to be an American, with the chance to start over and tell his own story.

In November 2017, it was announced Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Tim Roth had joined the cast of the film, with Julius Onah directing from a screenplay by himself and JC Lee.

The website's consensus reads: "Luce brings a stellar ensemble to bear on a satisfyingly complex story that addresses its timely themes in thought-provoking fashion.

"[10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 72 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

[11] The Guardian's Benjamin Lee said of Kelvin Harrison Jr.'s performance, "It's an utterly mesmeric turn, filled with crushing vulnerability and insidious menace, in a brutal, dramatically explosive film that challenges preconceptions and leaves us with difficult, troubling questions to consider.

"[12] Critic Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com praised the film, commenting, "It reminded me of early Mamet work although with a commentary on race he could never attempt.