'Lucy In The Sky' is not for everybody: Noah Hawley after film opens to mixed reviews

With critics not warming up to his feature directorial debut "Lucy In The Sky", director Noah Hawley has termed the project as a "movie not for everybody".

Featuring Oscar winner Natalie Portman in the lead, the film is inspired by the real-life story of astronaut Lisa Novak who made headlines in 2007 for the attempted kidnapping of her ex-lover's new girlfriend.

The film, which also stars Jon Hamm, Zazie Beetz and Dan Stevens, released in the US on Friday to mixed reviews.

Talking to IndieWire, Hawley, who has seen success on the small screen with shows such as "Legion" and "Fargo", said he took an "unorthodox approach" with the film.

"It will bump some people and, if you resist it, you will notice it and it will take you out of the movie. Automatically, it's not a movie for everybody. But I'd rather make something great for somebody than something good for everybody," the director said said.

Hawley said he finds it "exhilarating" to take "huge creative risk" with his work.

"I get to tell a lot of stories for the small screen, and if I was going to tell one for the big screen, (I thought), Why? What is it? What is it about the movie theatre experience? Can the movie theatre itself be a tool that I use to help increase the impact of the story?'