“Moonlight” is a powerful picture that digests a variety of serious topics. The film was written and directed by Barry Jenkins. It’s based on an unpublished semi-autobiographical play by Tarell Alvin McCraney and premiered at the 2016 Telluride Film Festival to wide acclaim.
It was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won three, including Best Picture. “Moonlight” is renowned as the first LGBTQ-themed mass-marketed feature film with an all-black cast. Its aesthetics are different than most things you will watch. The setting isn’t glorious beaches and girls in bikinis. It’s the hard streets of an inner city and the cold reality they bring.
Filmed and set in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood, the plot follows three stages in the life of the main character, Chiron, growing up during the crack epidemic of the 1980s. It’s a realistic story, one not polished with a jovial Hollywood ending. Chiron struggles to deal with his sexual identity, being bullied at school, and mentally abused at home.
Great Performances
Chiron is played by three actors. Alex R. Hibbert (young), Ashton Sanders (teenaged) Trevante Rhodes (adult). The three stages of Chiron’s life are divided by nicknames he is given at that particular moment in time. The character Chiron is always likeable. As a young child, he is tormented by classmates who chastise him as gay, a word he doesn’t even understand.
Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016). Photo: (David Bornfriend/A24).
Teenage Chiron is ruthlessly bullied by Terrel (Patrick Decile) my favorite character but only because I like villains. Adult Chiron has shed his mild demeanor and is not what we would expect him to turn into.
Mahershala Ali plays a drug dealer that becomes a father figure to young Chiron. Naomie Harris plays Chiron’s drug addicted mother. Ali and Harris would each win awards for their respective performances. There are no weak links in the acting. The format of the story keeps any one character from being on screen throughout (save for Harris). Each one brings a memorable performance to a limited amount of screen time.
The story deals with the cycle of poverty, masculinity with absent fathers, and homophobia in the black community. The film shows the viewer what inner city life is life. The challenges the community faces, and the seemingly no way-out mentality that is created. Its gritty, raw, and real.
“Moonlight” is 111 minutes. It’s an excellent film but not necessarily an enjoyable one. The abuse and conditions are tough to watch. The movie is tough to review. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys cinema and wants a different perspective not often afforded.
Download the JustWatch App for the best place to find “Moonlight.”
