A very stylish psychological thriller movie is airing on TV tonight

Stephen Porzio

The film stars an Oscar-winner in the lead role.

Our TV movie pick for tonight (Tuesday, 26 November) is Lucy in the Sky, the 2019 psychological thriller drama starring Oscar-winner Natalie Portman (Black Swan).

In the film – which is loosely inspired by true events – the actress plays an astronaut named Lucy Cola who has an awe-inspiring, transcendent experience during her first mission to space.

Upon her return to Earth, however, she starts feeling disconnected from her life – with her world now feeling too small.

Growing distant from her husband (Dan Stevens, The Guest), Lucy begins an affair with a fellow astronaut (Jon Hamm, Mad Men), all the while her behaviour grows more erratic.

Lucy in the Sky was co-written and directed by Noah Hawley, best known for creating the acclaimed cult TV shows Fargo and Legion.

His feature debut’s cast also includes Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Ellen Burstyn (The Exorcist), Jeffrey Donovan (Sicario), Nick Offerman (The Last of Us), Tig Notaro (Army of the Dead) and Zazie Beetz (Joker).

Lucy in the Sky was a huge box office and critical flop, with many taking issue with its more contemplative approach to exploring quite bizarre true life events.

Hawley himself addressed the movie’s failure in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, telling the outlet: “I did not have a great experience on that film, unfortunately.”

He explained:

“In retrospect, the movie was bought and set up as a Reese Witherspoon black comedy, and there must have been some extent to which [production and distribution company] Searchlight was expecting it to be that, and I delivered my magic realism astronaut movie. They didn’t know what to do with that movie.”

That said, we’d argue that its fascinating premise, its great cast and Hawley’s typically artful and stylish direction make Lucy in the Sky a curio of a film worth seeking out.

In particular, the way the director continually switches between different aspect ratios during the movie in an effort to convey its lead character’s sense of confinement and displacement on Earth is really interesting.

Plus, the psychological thriller drama features a cover of the titular Beatles song by Irish singer Lisa Hannigan that is absolutely gorgeous and perfectly fits the film.

Lucy in the Sky is airing on TV tonight on Film4 at 11.05pm. It should also be available to stream on Channel 4’s website after it airs.

Here are the other movies on TV this evening:

The Black Phone – Film4 – 9pm

Coming from the team behind Sinister – the scariest movie ever according to science – The Black Phone centres around a teenage boy abducted by a serial child killer known as The Grabber (Ethan Hawke).

Discovering a mystical black rotary phone in captivity that allows him to communicate with his captor’s slain victims, the child plots an escape.

Superbad – Comedy Central – 9pm

The classic coming-of-age comedy co-written by and featuring in its ensemble cast Seth Rogen.

Creed II – ITV4 – 9pm

Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) and Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) return in this hit boxing sequel.

Apollo 11 – Sky Showcase – 9pm

The acclaimed 2019 documentary focusing on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, the first spaceflight from which men walked on the Moon.

Mojave – Legend Xtra – 9pm

From the writer of The Departed comes this odd thriller about a cat-and-mouse game between a troubled Hollywood film director (Garrett Hedlund) and a homicidal drifter (Oscar Isaac) that he meets in the desert.

Ulzana’s Raid – Legend – 9pm

Burt Lancaster stars in this ’70s revisionist Western from legendary director Robert Aldrich (The Dirty Dozen).

Passenger 57 – ITV4 – 11.35pm

The movie that made Wesley Snipes an action hero icon.

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