Lucy in the Sky
Entry updated 5 October 2026. Tagged: Film.
US film (2019). Fox Searchlight Pictures/Pacific Standard. Directed by Noah Hawley. Written by Brian C Brown and Elliott DiGuiseppi (story); Brown, DiGuiseppi, and Hawley (screenplay); inspired by the story of Lisa Nowak. Cast includes Zazie Beetz, Ellen Burstyn, Colman Domingo, Pearl Amanda Dickson, Jon Hamm, Natalie Portman, and Dan Stevens. 125 minutes. Colour.
Astronaut Lucy Cola (Portman) is thrilled by her experiences of Space Flight during a Space Shuttle mission, especially an extended spacewalk which she later recalls on a few occasions. Returning home to her supportive husband Drew (Stevens) and unhappy niece Blue Iris (Dickson), she insists that she is perfectly fine while showing subtle signs of being disturbed. Still, she is determined to return to space and throws herself into training for an anticipated future mission while befriending younger astronaut Erin Eckles (Beetz). She soon begins having an affair with fellow astronaut Mark Goodwin (Hamm) and must deal with the death of her elderly mother Nana (Burstyn). After she behaves inappropriately during a botched training assignment and is temporarily removed from consideration for a future flight, she is further enraged when she discovers that Mark is now involved with Erin. She announces that she is leaving Drew and, with Blue Iris, embarks on a long car trip with a gun and insect repellant to confront Mark and Erin. When she sprays Mark with the insect repellant in a parking garage, police arrive to arrest her. Three years later, apparently fully recovered, Lisa is working happily as a beekeeper and Blue Iris also seems content with her life.
The film, which does not mention Lisa Nowak in the credits, took considerable liberties with her story, notably the invention of a niece to keep Lucy company; but the major problem is its leaden pacing, as it becomes involving only in the final thirty minutes. Also, Lucy's purportedly life-changing and ecstatic reaction to being in space, inspiring her desperate quest to return, is surprisingly not emphasized, with only a few very brief flashbacks, and the whole subject seems to have been forgotten as the film progresses. This contrasts with another film about a troubled ex-astronaut, Beyond the Stars (1989), wherein the protagonist repeatedly recalls his sojourn on the Moon as shown by extended flashbacks. The Beatles song that gave the film its title, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (1967), is heard in the film for no apparent reason other than to vaguely suggest her growing madness. The film was additionally criticized for reinforcing the notion that travelling into space invariably induces mental problems, although aside from the well-publicized cases of Buzz Aldrin and Nowak, returning astronauts otherwise have seemed to remain well adjusted. But the absence of drama in most astronauts' lives explains why there have been relatively few films made about them. [GW]
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