Moonlight (2016)

[Plain Old Tele]

Discuss.

[filmlover]

A much more concise review is coming in the morning but this is the best movie to be released since Boyhood.

[filmlover]

Moonlight has been drawing comparisons to Richard Linklater's Boyhood, and it's not difficult to see why. Both films follow the journey of a young boy as he goes on to discover himself as he's grows up. This is a marvelous film that neither shies away from the ugliness that the protagonist, a black LBGT male, faces as he grows up (but neither does it wallow in the misery like most films of its ilk do) but never feels exploitative, and all of it feels true to life. We've encountered someone like Chiron at some point in our lives even if it was by passing a stranger on the streets. Especially phenomenal is the acting. The three of the actors who play Chiron, all relative newcomers, are magnificent discoveries, while Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris deserve the Oscar nominations they will receive. Andre Holland and Janelle Monae are also superb. This is what the SAG Awards were made for, people. In addition, the film is impeccably-directed by Barry Jenkins (also the screenwriter); there are many, many shots here that are terrifically put together. I look forward to seeing anything Jenkins does going forward. Year after year (and especially this year), movies are released that hardly register in the brain after they're over. This is not one of those movies. This is a film that will stay with everyone long after the end credits conclude. See it as soon as you can. A

[Kalo]

I need to see this movie so bad, but I don't know if it will play anywhere remotely close to me. 

[filmlover]

5 minutes ago, Kalo said:

I need to see this movie so bad, but I don't know if it will play anywhere remotely close to me. 

It's definitely worth seeking out even if it means going out of your way to do so (I took a 45 minute drive to and back and it was completely worth it).

[Kalo]

40 minutes ago, filmlover said:

It's definitely worth seeking out even if it means going out of your way to do so (I took a 45 minute drive to and back and it was completely worth it).

 

Yeah 45 mintues only a little farther than the nearest theater to me, it looks like the closeted it is playing is over 200 miles away. it will still expand most likely though. 

Edited October 29, 2016 by Kalo

[Kvikk Lunsj]

This is playing an 1 hour and 20 minutes a way from me. 

[filmlover]

This where it opens next week:

 

 

[Kvikk Lunsj]

2 hours ago, filmlover said:

This where it opens next week:

 

 

Yes I think I will watch this next week. 

[Kvikk Lunsj]

Powerful and moving. The  Music  is brilliant, well acted, greatly direct, visually beautiful. The more I think about it the more I like it. This movie could easily be 3 hours or a trilogy.  

[filmlover]

It really can't be overstated just how phenomenal the ensemble is here. I'll be surprised if we don't see Trevante Rhodes (Adult Chiron) and Ashton Sanders (Teenage Chiron) pop up in a bunch of mainstream projects soon enough.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

2 hours ago, filmlover said:

It really can't be overstated just how phenomenal the ensemble is here. I'll be surprised if we don't see Trevante Rhodes (Adult Chiron) and Ashton Sanders (Teenage Chiron) pop up in a bunch of mainstream projects soon enough.

 

If there was ensemble award at the Oscars I think this would win it. 

[Webslinger]

Is it reductionist to label Moonlight as "The Black and Gay Boyhood?" Yes. But is it also as flattering as it is accurate? Yes.

 

In each of the three portions of writer-director Barry Jenkins's film, I was floored with the power of what I was seeing onscreen. Every scene feels so authentic that I couldn't help but respond with the corresponding elation, heartbreak, or bittersweet acceptance of the positive and negative forces colliding in protagonist Chiron's life. Each segment of the film works like a brilliant short film in its own right, but the latter two portions each benefit from the content that precedes them. By the time that we encounter Black in the final third of the film, his uncertain place as an adult hits hard because of the deep level of investment that Jenkins builds with the character in the first two segments. Each of the three actors who plays Chiron - Alex Hibbert as nine-year-old Little, Ashton Sanders as teenage Chiron, and Trevante Rhodes as adult Black - is superbly understated in the role. The decision to let each actor take a unique approach to the character - a decision enforced through Jenkins's refusal to let these three actors meet one another - helps to make the character's development between segments feel significant and meaningful; Chiron is never the same character between segments, but rather a changed one whose experiences have shaped him in profound ways at which we as viewers can only guess. Taken as a whole, these three performances help to develop a complex character whose constant sensitivity feels powerful and whose constant contradictions in masculinity - from Little's softness to Chiron's bubbling anger to Black's juxtaposition of external toughness with internal tenderness - make him feel like an authentically vulnerable young person whose public and private selves still have yet to find harmony with one another. However, as impressive as these collected performances are (to the extent that this film ought to gain very serious consideration in the SAG's Ensemble category despite the relative lack of recognizable names), the constants are even more impressive. Mahersherala Ali - already a proven performer from his underrated work on House of Cards - is a revelation as Juan, the most prominent father figure in Chiron's life. Ali's performance is wholly natural and unforced, and it lingers despite coming to an end after the first third of the film. He's the perfect role model for Chiron: a man who displays compassion and tenderness without sacrificing the model of masculinity that society expects from black men. Janelle Monae is also fantastic as Ali's girlfriend and mother figure to Chiron; her presence and compassion allows her performance to register despite a paucity of screentime. Naomie Harris rounds out the collection of stellar performances with stinging work as Chiron's drug-addicted mother who eventually sees the error of her ways; her performance is played so intelligently that she handles the pivot from drug-addled mess in the first two segments to voice of reason in her final scene perfectly. And finally, although they won't receive much awards attention, the actors who portray  Kevin - Jaden Piner as a young child, Jharrel Jermone as a teenager, and Andre Holland as an adult - are also excellent in developing a more traditionally masculine male whose sexuality isn't as cut-and-dry as it initially appears. As dark as the film gets at certain points, I couldn't help but smile in the air of optimism that ultimately pervades the entire thing. By the final shot - which feels earned by the time we reach it - I couldn't wipe the wide grin from my face. Moonlight is a film that celebrates its protagonist's unconventional growth not as some sort of aberration, but rather as a natural progression toward discovering one's own identity. In that way, it's easily the most sublime film of the year to date, and sure to land a spot among my favorites of the year as a whole.

 

A

 

Stray observations:

 

1.) I'm kind of astounded that it has taken until November 11 to award my first full "A" of the year, especially when I usually have three or four such films by this point (or five last year). That being said, this one was worth the wait; I wouldn't be surprised if it finishes in the #1 spot.

 

2.) It's hard to say whether this or Carol is the biggest LGBT landmark film of the 2010s to date. Nevertheless, the fact that we've had four great films about same-sex relationships (the aforementioned two and 2010's The Kids Are All Right and 2013's Blue Is the Warmest Color; there's also a case to be made for Black Swan - where the protagonist is either lesbian or bisexual - and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - which shows the title character enjoying consensual sex with each gender) is great. Now, here's to hoping that the "T" portion of that acronym gets an equally significant film by the end of 2019; the well-meaning-but-ultimately-troublesome The Danish Girl isn't sufficient.

[Ezen Baklattan]

Simply wonderful. Jenkins' direction of life being so quitely moving and subtly powerful really gives the film a unique voice. The diner sequence still stands with me as one of the most beautiful and impactful sequences. It's nice for a movie to not have to rely on such big, dramatic moments.

[Blankments]

Moonlight is a visceral wonder of an emotional nature. Chiron's tale is one of repression, oppression, and ultimately, hope and freedom. It's a film needed at this time in the world, but even if we lived in a better world, it'd still be wonder. Barry Jenkins directs with skill that puts you right there with Chiron, and Hibbert, Sanders, and Rhodes all embody him in the way that we instantly understand where he is in his life, and why he is confused on what he wants. Ali and Harris live up to the hype as well, but really, this has a pitch perfect cast all the way through.

 

The score is incredible, and the soundtrack is wonderfully selected. The cinematography also frequently astounds, once again allowing us to see the world from Chiron's view in a way that we see his horror, and, all too briefly, his amazement. It's a film of a powerful nature, composing a beautiful concoction of sight and sound that constantly amazes.

 

Moonlight is a miraculous work of art that is absolutely necessary to see. Chiron may be lost, but he can find hope and love despite the odds of the world he is in. Jenkins has made an exquisite piece of cinema that will be remembered for years to come. A

[cannastop]

It's been a long time since I've watched a movie that spoon-feeds nothing to its audience. The dreamlike mise-en-scene supports the emotional immediacy well.

 

That's not to say that the spell never breaks. The Kevin in part II is a poor performance compared to the other leads. That's part of the reason I was so incredulous at one emotional crescendo and its rather hackneyed cuts. (Clenching fingers on the sand?)

 

But overall, this movie is an A.

Edited November 21, 2016 by cannastop

[Morieris]

Needed more time in the third part. Take the next ten minutes, make this a little over two hours. We've come this far.

 

I was surprised at how hyped a lot of performances were when they weren't in the movie very long, but they are very good. I also had no idea this was in three parts (I never saw the trailers).

 

That is honestly my only criticism. 

 

A

[AniNate]

Always gotta be someone, right?

 

This is a good film, and an important validation for the community it represents, but something about it just felt too pat to me. The movie's split into three parts which together have the feeling of reducing Chiron's life to a simplistic "Be Yourself" moral, while there seem to be far more interesting angles that are left unexplored. I left the theater feeling like this would be one of those Oscar Bait films I'd probably forget in a year.

 

Torches and pitchforks are in the shed if you need them

[Webslinger]

No torches and pitchforks here (even for what may ultimately be my favorite film of 2016; at the very least, it seems good enough to end up in the top two or three, but with how relatively underwhelming this year has been as a whole, I wouldn't be surprised to see it finish as my #1), but given that we're talking about a rough-hewn, low-budget flick with no A-list stars that focuses on a gay black man, this film seems like the farthest possible thing from Oscar bait, at least as far as critical darlings are concerned.

[The Panda]

It's incredibly authentic, gorgeously shot and stirring.  I didnt find it as strong as Boyhood, and it did feel a little meandering at parts (Boyhood did too, but it worked better for me).  It is powerful cinema though, and I can't overstate how strong the ensemble is.

 

A-