Moonlight Review

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     There are certain films that come along every now and then that really shake you to your core and make you open your eyes to a way of life that you never knew about. They break your heart and widen your perspective on life, whether you agree with what you have seen or not. City of God is one of those movies, as are Do the Right Thing and Slumdog Millionaire. Now another one has come along, and this one is called Moonlight. Let’s dive in.

      Moonlight is the story of an African-American man named Chiron and covers three distinct periods in his life: when he’s a young boy (Alex Hibbert) trying to discover himself while growing up in the slums of Miami, when he is a teenager (Ashton Sanders) going through physical and emotional changes as he begins to explore his sexuality, and as an adult (Trevante Rhodes) experiencing the fallout of his previous choices. Recurring story elements are his relationship with his mother (Naomie Harris), a drug addict, and a couple of drug dealers who take him in (Mahershala Ali and Janelle Monae) as well as his burgeoning affection for his best friend Kevin (Jaden Piner, Jharrel Jerome, and Andre Holland). I don’t want to say more for fear of giving it away, but let’s just say that it’s nowhere near as cliché as it sounds. 

     While thinking about how to review this, one of my favorite reviewers made a comparison that I hadn’t thought about: Boyhood. Both films follow one character throughout their lives, but while Boyhood is more mechanically impressive and a daring cinematic experiment, Moonlight actually hits genuine emotional beats in how it tells a coming-of-age story. Director Barry Jenkins and his creative team clearly had a personal connection to this script, because everything feels so raw and so real. You feel like you’re watching the story of a person who actually exists, and as the film unfolds that aspect of it draws you deeper and deeper into it. You will have a roller coaster of emotions going through this, and I almost cried at least twice during it. 

     Like any great movie, the cast is what sells it, and what makes it even more impressive is that this is an all-black cast (something I’ll touch on shortly) with the primary roles filled by unknowns. The name actors do a great job, with Naomie Harris being the most consistent face and having perhaps the greatest narrative arc besides Chiron’s. You start out the film pitying her and then hating her, but by the end of the film she reveals new layers that make you reflect on her past actions and (in my case) made me feel bad for judging her. Perhaps the most positive characters are Mahershala Ali’s Juan and Janelle Monae’s Theresa providing a comforting and stable place for Chiron to flee to when he’s undergoing life troubles, and the tension in the film lets up when they are around. In a film that isn’t easy on our young central character, these characters show that, like Chiron’s mother, you can’t just judge somebody based on what you see and slap them with a label. They might be drug dealers and do some bad things, but they show Chiron a lot more love and care than his mother does.
     More than anything else acting wise, I was very impressed with the actors who portrayed Chiron and Kevin. Each one, be they kids or adults, look alike and manage to carry similar traits and mannerisms all the way through. The only one who looks a little bit different is Ashton Sanders, but given that he's playing Chiron in the awkward middle stage it doesn't really matter and he sells it. Of those six I was most impressed by the child actors, though, especially young Alex Hibbert playing Chiron as a kid. That kid shows so much emotion and conflict on his face in every scene that he's in and I was really taken by him. For a character that says so little, every gesture and look he makes could fill up a couple of pages of dialogue each. The fact that Barry Jenkins found all these actors and that they were all good is quite a feat.

     One of the many things that Moonlight has in common with the films I listed at the very start is the perspective that it takes on a familiar story, and how much that changes everything. Chiron is a closeted homosexual that lives in the ghetto, surrounded by dangerous and unpredictable people who value strength and look down on anyone they view as not being manly, which is an approach I haven't seen taken to the LGBT coming of age story before. Even Closet Monster (review here), a film I really loved this year, is just another one of these films about a gay white kid who lives in a middle class family. Moonlight is different because it does provide a different view, one that never really gets examined in the media, and it is all the better for it. Add to that the really creative story structure that it has and you have yourself a very unique film that hits a lot of areas many of us didn't know needed to be hit, and forces you to see the harsh reality that these kids and later adults live in.

     Something I think a lot of movies have forgotten how to do is tell a story subtly, and Moonlight is a shining example of how to make that work. Chiron is a character that says very little but emotes a lot in very quiet and (here's that word again) subtle ways. There are no big "Oscar moments" here where someone breaks down and the music swells and all that, and for some reason that makes it all the more powerful. There isn't a lot of score to the film or obnoxious "nominate me!" camera work, adding to the feeling that this is a real story. The only real big moment happens near the end of the second act, and the movie has been so measured and quiet that when things erupt in that moment it took me off guard in a big way. While some might be a little bored by this technique, I really dug it and got immersed into the story more than I have in a lot of films this year, which is no small feat considering the movies that I've seen and loved.

     In the YMMV category, I feel that this shouldn't be an issue but if you're sensitive to LGBT stories or stories about African-Americans then you won't like it much. By the way, if you are that kind of person kindly get over yourself and watch the damn movie because it's great. Anyways, another more reasonable thing to bring up is that while I loved the quiet and subtle nature of it, people who are not prepared for it might get incredibly bored and tune out quickly. If you're going to sit down and watch this, be wide awake and ready for something a little more measured than the average drama.

     Moonlight is a great film, plain and simple. I sat in my theater and was entranced from beginning to end, finding myself invested in these characters and going through a roller coaster of emotions as I saw the story unfold. This is a story that needed to be told and told through the lens of an oft-forgotten group of people, and I give it a great amount of credit for that. This is without a doubt one of my favorite movies this year, and I don't think I'll see another movie (*eyes Manchester by the Sea warily*) that'll floor me as much as this did. Check it out ASAP.

My Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Moonlight is in theaters now.

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