Moonlight

Plot synopsis:
This film is told through three different points in the protagonist's life.Part I. LittleIn Miami, a drug dealer named Juan (Mahershala Ali) meets with one of his boys near the dope holes in town. A junkie is desperately trying to buy something off the other man, but he is continuously rejected.Juan goes by a hole in which a young boy (Alex Hibbert) has been chased into by a group of bullies. The bullies throw rocks at the window before leaving. Juan pulls off a wooden board from the window and finds the boy hiding. He takes the boy out to get food and asks him his name, but the boy never responds. Juan brings him to the home of his girlfriend Teresa (Janelle Monae), where the boy finally says his name is Chiron, but the other kids call him "Little."The next day, Juan brings Chiron back to his home. His mother Paula (Naomie Harris) brings Chiron inside and keeps him away from Juan as he tries to say his farewell.A group of schoolboys play on a field near the railroad tracks. Chiron leaves the group and is followed by his only friend Kevin (Jaden Piner). Kevin tells Chiron that he needs to show the other boys that he's not soft so they will stop picking on him. They play-fight before running off home.After class, the boys are in a room showing each other their penises. Chiron enters the room after Kevin lets him in. He unzips his pants and shows himself to Kevin and the other boys.Juan takes Chiron to the beach to teach him how to swim. They sit on the sand as Juan tells Chiron about his own childhood, telling the boy how he must carve out his own path in this world and not let anyone else decide for him.At night, Juan sees someone smoking crack in the streets. He discovers that Paula is with the man, being her boyfriend. Juan chastises Paula for smoking crack, but she hits back that he's the one that sold it to her. They argue about how Chiron is being raised, with Paula asking Juan if he is trying to raise her son and if he knows why the other boys pick on him. She later goes home and angrily calls Chiron a faggot.In the morning, Chiron goes to Juan and Teresa's house. He expresses his hatred for Paula and then asks Juan what a faggot is. After Juan explains, Chiron asks if he himself is one. He then asks Juan about his drug-dealing and selling to his mother. Chiron leaves, and Juan appears tearfully remorseful.Part II. ChironChiron is now a teenager (now played by Ashton Sanders). Juan has long since passed away. Chiron is harassed at school by a punk named Terrel (Patrick Decile), who mocks Chiron in the middle of class until their teacher kicks Terrel out.After class, Kevin (now played by Jharrel Jerome) goes up to Chiron to brag about receiving a blowjob from a girl on the staircase and how he got detention for doing so. He also gives Chiron the nickname "Black".
Chiron continues to visit Teresa for food, a place to crash some nights, and sometimes some money. When Chiron goes back toward his home, a very high Paula comes out and starts demanding money from Chiron so she may get more drugs for herself. She tries to forcibly takes money from his pockets until he relents and hands it over to her.As Chiron walks home from school, Terrel and his buddy run up on Chiron and taunt him about his mother and Teresa. When Chiron responds angrily, the two threaten him and make him take a step back.Chiron visits the beach and sits on the sand. He is joined moments later by Kevin, who shares a blunt with him. They talk to each other about their goals, and eventually get close enough to start kissing. Kevin then gives Chiron a handjob.At school, Chiron tries to sit with Kevin at lunch before Terrel sits with him. They have a pleasant chat as Terrel recalls an old "game" called "Knocked Down, Stay Down," which Kevin was apparently good at. Terrel tries to find someone for Kevin to knock down. He picks Chiron and pressures Kevin into hitting him. Kevin reluctantly strikes Chiron a few times in the face and tells him to stay down. Chiron continues to get up, leading to Terrel and his friends to start stomping him out. Later, Chiron sees a social worker who urges him to give up the names of his attackers. He feels that nothing will be stopped if he says names.The next day, Chiron walks into class and immediately grabs a chair and smashes it over Terrel's back, knocking him to the ground. Chiron tries to get more hits in, but he is held back by the teacher and other students. He is later arrested, and Kevin sees him being taken away in the police car..Part III. BlackThe story jumps about ten years later. Chiron (now played by Trevante Rhodes) is living in Atlanta after a stint in juvie, and is now pushing drugs. He lives alone in a small house and is significantly more bulked up than in his youth. One night, Chiron receives an unexpected phone call from Kevin (now played by Andre Holland), who got Chiron's number from Teresa. Kevin apologizes for what happened in school and for what he did to Chiron. Chiron is silent but he sheds a tear. Kevin says he is now a cook in Miami and he invites Chiron to visit him for a meal.On his way through Florida, Chiron stops to visit his mother. Paula is deeply upset with how she treated Chiron as a child and for letting her addiction take over. She tells Chiron she loves him and knows he doesn't have to love her back. Chiron forgives Paula.Chiron arrives at Kevin's diner. Kevin is surprised to see Chiron seated at the front. He cooks a chef's special for Chiron, which is a Cuban dish. Kevin brings some wine over for them to drink. Chiron is still fairly quiet, but the two eventually engage in conversation. Kevin says he'd had a son (Kevin Jr.) with a woman named Samantha. When Chiron asks, "Y'all still down?", Kevin says, "Nah, not like that, man," although he says he and Samantha are "cool" on account of Kevin Jr. Chiron admits that he is selling drugs, to Kevin's displeasure. Chiron claims "it is what it is", but Kevin disagrees.Kevin brings Chiron to his apartment for the night. There, Kevin admits that he's not where he thought he would have been in life, but he is happy with his job and family. Chiron states that he hasn't been touched by anyone since Kevin back in high school. Chiron and Kevin then sit on the bed with Chiron resting his head on Kevin's shoulder, and Kevin starts stroking Chiron's head.The film ends with a shot of Chiron as a child standing on the beach.

Tags: revenge

Review:
I've seen a lot of movies lately, mostly because we've had a series of amazing releases but Moonlight affected me deeply on a personal level like very few managed to do in the past few years.Having seen the trailer only once and knowing the brilliant cast – Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Janelle Monae – I was sure this one would be a hit.
Second of all, Moonlight showed that a movie can talk about queerness in the black community and turn it into art and present it with dignity and beauty and capture the essence of being a black gay man, the masculinity and actually show the struggles, it went to places a few movies would dare to go and it spoke to me; I know for a fact a lot of people walked out of the cinema more accepting and open-minded.
I had a 70-year-old grandpa sitting next to me, weeping and crying like a child, I have never felt more connected with the people I'm randomly watching a movie with.I can't talk about Moonlight enough, the cinematography was exquisite and the directing was epic, the editing just brilliant.
The camera takes you with the people and it captures emotion and feelings like you are there, somehow managing to peak into their lives.Despite the fact that the movie goes from decade to decade, childhood, young adult and grown man, you never feel any gaps in the story.
The ending left me gasping and a mess, I was happy and full of emotions and love and I still remember scenes from the movie and my heart breaks for Little and at the same time I feel happy for Black and I want to protect Chiron.Moonlight is everything a movie should be and more; an example of how things can and should be portrayed and it all comes with brilliant performances and incredible directing.
The reviewer's dilemma (and it is a dilemma reviewers LOVE to encounter) is, in a superb film with superb acting all around, a superb script, and superb directing, you still need to pay special attention to those actors that, in such a competitive environment, stand out as something "extra" special.In this mesmerizing film, special attention has to go to two actors who steal every scene they are in and silently promise the viewer that the long and bountiful careers ahead of them will deliver even better performances down the road.I am referring first to Mahershala Ali, whose magnetic presence made him the centerpiece of Luke Cage (where he competes with, and surpasses, actors with much greater experience).
Awesome to behold and although he has been lately playing characters of "dubious morality" one gets the feeling he could play a hero just as easily.And then there is the performance of Naomie Harris, a performance so strong and memorable that I began to recall that, in the Golden Age of films, they used to refer to performances like hers as "searing" -- but lately I have not seen the term used very often in a review.So in honor of Ms. Harris I will say for the record that her performance in this film -- with minimal screen time -- is searing and unforgettable.Highly recommended..
It is difficult to effectively display certain inner conflicts one may experience during the coming of age, but 'Moonlight' stunningly portrays three chapters in the life of a young, black boy and his struggle whilst growing up gay.
Starting off with Little (Alex Hibbert); a boy who is taken under the wing of local drug dealer Juan (Mahershala Ali), followed by him as a teen, referred to as Chiron (Ashton Sanders), slowly uncovering and accepting his sexuality, then finally as a man (Trevante Rhodes), living his life begrudgingly with the burden of his troubled past.
This, combined with an excellent screenplay by Jenkins, inspired by Tarell Alvin McCraney's play, 'In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue', results in a naturally flowing story that makes 'Moonlight' immensely powerful.All three actors portray the main character with equal conviction, immersion and entrancing absorption; it certainly feels like an overarching story following one character, a hard task to truly pull off unless, like Richard Linklater's 'Boyhood', you use the same actor over an extended period.
Certainly Oscar worthy, her marvellous display as Chiron's damaged, drug addicted mother is one that particularly stands out, despite the movie in itself being an incredible cinematic experience altogether.
Barry Jenkins' Moonlight is a quite exceptional piece of cinema that explores these ideas in such a wonderful and intimate manner.Told through three important stages of Chiron's life; the first being as a young boy nicknamed Little (Alex Hibbert), the second in his teenage years where he is actually referred to as Chiron (Ashton Sanders) and the third being in his adult years where he goes by the nickname Black (Trevante Rhodes), Moonlight depicts his journey of self-discovery and sexuality while growing up in a rough Miami neighbourhood.Moonlight is a bold coming-of-age drama from Barry Jenkins that has an important place in today's cinema, becoming a raw and powerful film that speaks volumes in today's climate through evocative performances and a strong narrative that might seem simple upon first viewing but certainly becomes more layered when you look back on it.The idea to split Chiron's story into three important stages of his formative years is a stroke of genius from Tarell Alvin McCraney, whose work as a playwright comes into play with the structure and feel of Moonlight.
Watching Chiron's life take shape through certain events in his younger years combined with Barry Jenkins' screenplay, capturing a sense of realism, ensures Moonlight as a film that will stay with me for a while.I mentioned the intimate manner in which Moonlight handles its subject matter and it really is one of the film's stand-out features, the close relationships that Chiron sparingly experiences and James Laxton's cinematography really honing in on this.Coming to the performances, Moonlight is a special film with a cast who each don't get too much time to impress but they sure as hell make the most of their individual opportunities.
The narrative dictates that three different actors of different ages were needed to make Moonlight work as a film, leading to Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes giving three impressive and similar performances in the lead role.
Mahershala Ali is the favourite to walk away with the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Juan, a drug dealer who has a major impact on Chiron in his younger years.
Harris, who is up for Best Supporting Actress, gives arguably the best performance of the film, where the drug addiction leads to her character having almost two personalities, one abusive the other nurturing, if only seen briefly.To many Moonlight is the biggest threat to La La Land for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, easy to see why with how great a film it is.
Moonlight (2016) **** (out of 4)Extremely well-made and lyrical movie that deals with a young black man trying to survive in Miami while discovering who he is through a series of hard times.
I'm not saying it's one of the greatest films ever made but at the same time I would argue that it's one of the best directed and acted movies that I've seen in a very long time and the end result is something rather special.
Yes, we've seen these coming of age dramas for countless decades now but this one here still manages to come across rather fresh and original.What I loved most about the film were the performances by the three actors playing the same character at various stages of his life.
All three actors really did seem to have studied each other or at least had such great direction where they were all acting the same way, with the same emotions and as the film went along you could see how the teenager was in the younger version and how these two versions played a major role on the adult.The performances here are simply wonderful with Hibbert, Sanders and Rhodes delivering some of the finest performances of the year.
The film's all-black cast takes away the focus on race; what remains is a universal lonely man on a path to gay masculinity.The best-fit genre label for this narrative is 'coming-of-age', but this story is less about happenings and more about being and becoming.
I can only guess that they thought it was politically correct to give a movie about a bullied,gay, black teen a good review because of all the controversy surrounding the Academy Awards supposed lack of ethnic diversity.
Told in three parts, the story of a bullied boy ('Little") growing up with a lack of love and guidance in the slums of Miami, his life as an isolated, beleaguered teenager ("Chiron") and finally his persona and relationships as a man ("Black" ).
Mahershala Ali as the drug dealer is possibly the best performance in the film he is perfect and Naomi Harris has a brilliant supporting role.This film flairs with originality and a unique style of telling It's story.
If it can't be easily categorized, it's either frightening and something to be opposed to, or it's abnormal and therefore something to be marginalized.The main conflict at the heart of "Moonlight," a beautiful movie about a young black man's coming of age in poor and drug-afflicted Miami, is our protagonist's inability to define himself in terms that his environment will allow.
This entire sequence is directed, written, and acted with utmost delicacy.I can't think of a movie in recent memory that puts loneliness and anguish on screen more effectively than "Moonlight." It's a movie that asks us to see life from the perspective of a very specific individual but then draws universal conclusions from it that makes the superficial differences between him and the viewer (I'm not black, I'm not gay, I didn't grow up in a poor urban environment) melt away until you feel deep compassion and sympathy for a fellow human being who is doing what we all are -- navigating the complexities of living on this world and making the best of it we can.Grade: A.
'Moonlight' is not a perfect film and may not have been my personal pick for the Best Picture award (for me that was 'La La Land' though that is not a popular opinion it seems).
What could possibly be going on, one wonders?So lets just cut to the chase: the PC policy of Mainstream Media and Hollywood has been all-consuming and utterly transparent for years.The reception to this film is actually a very nice illustration of what's going on in the world right now: the Mainstream Media picks a political position (always very very far Left for, of course, there's nothing quite as distasteful as a conservative), uniformly sticks to it, and shamelessly abandons all objectivity for fear of not being seen to hold the 'correct' view.
I enjoyed the way the movie transitioned from one chapter to the next; each chapter ending at a pivotal moment in Chiron's life and the following chapter starting with little mention of what took place in the interim.
At times, characters would briefly mention events that occurred outside of the movie's time frame in a way that does not feel forced, much like the film's seamless dialogue.
I watched it ill, this is just another boring, low-budget, movie, that kills hopes of a young director and actors to be in a film that wins Best Picture.
So, o.k. lets have a shot at Oscar - O.k. but how - Lets make a movie about black people - Sure, that's a good start, but not enough - Lets make it both about skin and sexuality - Hm, that is going somewhere, but still...
Sex and attraction is a large component, but simply knowing who one is is a major struggle.Jenkins has some very big, emotional scenes in this film, which is told in three parts, in large part coming from the dynamic between the boy, called "Little" but actual named Chiron, and his mother (Naomie Harries, I mean, god damn she is amazing in this).
This can be a difficult way to make someone interesting, but there's so much truth from these young actors, especially the boy playing Chrion in middle-school age, that your heart pours out even more because of the restraint, because of the shyness that is hiding back an entire interior life that's more than what we can see: one of pain and want.The way Jenkins shoots everything gives characters and places an extra texture, how he'll show two people by a beach at night becoming closer together naturally over minutes that feel pregnant with meaning.
Mahershala Ali , the music and the cinematography are the best of the movie.After the first hour , the film falls and it turns boring, the story does not advance any more and it seems that the movie is about anything, we can not explore more our main character, there is not much rank on what we see about Chiron..
Just one big dull moment.The thing is, that by 'fluffing' the piece up or saying it is better than it is just because it is a 'black' film it is like saying: This is the best we can do, and when REAL people watch it (not fake reviewers or people fluffing it), they'll say, "Really?
I am very eclectic when it comes to movies, such as I love the marvel movies, lord of the rings series, Quentin Tarantino, animated, sci-fi, westerns and even horror movies aka the conjuring, purge, green inferno, the insidious series, musical, I have watched Les Miserables countless times and I thought Fences was one of the best performances by denzel in ages..So please believe me I was looking forward to seeing this movie after it what the golden globe awards..I could not even making it through half this movie...I have no issues with slow movies if the actors and dialogue can keep me pulled...aka Fences...but I couldn't even tell what this movie was suppose to be about 1 hour in....the fact that this movie won any award is disservice to all other movies..i hope the Oscars do not give into to the pressures of the ignorant.....
The camera work in the opening section of the film appears designed to induce motion sickness!In the unlikely event I were to watch this on DVD I'd have the subtitles on so I can read what a lot of the dialogue and understand it - in English.For the audience this movie is targeted at it could be regarded as a master piece.
"Moonlight" is a dramatic and very well acted film about three stages in the life of a black character since he was a bullied boy and teenager in Miami until his adulthood in Atlanta.
The main character lacks a more profound development, the "third scene" is close to nothing (it adds basically anything) and, at some point, we've seen this film before - just remember "Boyhood".So, it's a nice movie, interesting, but pure and simply not good enough to conquer Oscars Night..
except the good image and lighting, the movie is awful, in one word to describe it, wast of time, nothing new, no story, and it giving a bad image of the black society in America..
I wasted my time again, only because it won best picture, awarded I'm sure for politics rather than anything else (the negro roundabout(that other minority groups and whites end up on in certain neighborhoods) it's a negro film and it's a gay film).
Of the Oscars I have not seen all of the best picture nominations but I have seen Hacksaw ridge and in my opinion this movie was brilliant and made Moonlight look like something of a joke, it moved me, gripped me and made me talk about and recommend it to others, the things that make a movie worthy of awards..
I think it would probably be more honest to call this film "please give this an Oscar, as we have included everything Hollywood committees like; gay black people, and the pain of growing up!" Thumbs down..
The movie is only about 97 minutes long and thank god for that because the story moves along at a truly glacial rate and the biggest problem with the movie is that none of the main characters are at all likable.This movie disappointed me more than Manchester by the Sea. So much for the accuracy of awards shows like the Oscars or the Golden Globes.So who voted for this movie to get Best Picture of 2016?.
Viewing this movie is like watching paint dry and no matter what good features it has the film is mostly boring and tedious.
For all sorts of political and other reasons "the media" et al have decided to laud this picture as some kind of masterpiece; I respectfully but strongly disagree.And it is insulting to black people that Hollywood has decided to now go overboard in its' praise to try to atone for years of ignoring black minorities.The story shows different phases of a young black man's life, who comes from a broken home, has a gay experience and eventually becomes a drug dealer.
As with people and life it's simply a passage a journey of time and discovery."Moonlight" is broken into three different chapters as it looks at the life of Chiron a young black boy from a little boy growing up all the way up to an adult.
As film picked up excellent reviews and 8 Oscar nomination, I went on blind date with this movie and didn't want to know anything about it.
A film exploring the life of a young black gay man in America.We first see Chiron as a young boy being chased by some bullies in a rough part of Miami.