Streaming: Netflix (With Subscription)
Warnings:
Drugs
Sex
Violence
Explicit Language
Rating: R
Moonlight is a coming-of-age drama written and directed by Barry Jenkins, based on the play by Tarell Alvin McCraney (McCraney also co-wrote the script for the film). The film won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Moonlight follows a young man struggling with his identity and sexuality while he experiences a difficult childhood and adolescence, his struggle develops into a troubled adulthood and the film beautifully portrays these different stages of his life. Since the film is based on a play, the story is also divided like a play, however the acting isn’t similar to theater acting whatsoever. Moonlight stars Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Janelle Monáe, Asthon Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali. Moonlight is cited as one of the best films of the 21st century. It became the first film with an all-black cast and the first LGBTQ related film to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Joi McMillon also became the first Black woman to be nominated for an editing Oscar and Mahershala Ali became the first Muslim to win an acting Oscar. There are many wonderful elements to this film but focusing on the acting, the cinematography and the music as well as sound editing will better capture how stunning Moonlight is.
Mahershala Ali plays Juan, who is a positive role model for young Chiron and the perfect example of positive masculinity for him to look up to. Ali won Best Supporting Actor and received numerous other awards and nominations for his role. Ali was magnificent in his role, but all three actors who played Chiron are also incredibly impressive. Alex Hibbert plays child Chiron, Ashton Sanders played teen Chiron, and Trevante Rhodes plays adult Chiron, each actor brought a new perspective and insight into the personality of the character. Trevante Rhodes completely captured the transition after teenage Chiron, now a handsome adult but still just as insecure. Kevin, who is Chiron’s closest friend is played by three phenomenal actors as well, Jaden Piner plays child Kevin, Jharrel Jerome plays Teen Kevin, and André Holland plays Adult Kevin. The combination of these actors together truly stole the show; the casting is especially well thought out because the transition through characters is convincing. It is not at all surprising how many awards Moonlight won; it was certainly well deserved.
The cinematography was executed by James Laxton, known for If Beal Street Could Talk, Tusk, and Camp X-Ray. Moonlight had a relatively low budget of 1.5 million dollars, Laxton and Jenkins had to become more creative with the resources they had. This challenged them to work through a lens of contemporary filmmaking and ingenuity that blossomed into a bold cinematic masterpiece. The cinematography is at times entrancing like a dream and at other times shocking like a horror film. There are scenes in the film where the colors are gloomy yet captivating, drawing the audience into the scene further. Other times the lens has a soft focus, highlighting the delicacy of the moment and allowing the acting to take over the scene. Laxton won his first Academy Award for Moonlight along with an Independent Spirit Award.
Along with the beautiful imagery, the score is also attention grabbing. The score skillfully accompanies the cinematography in a way that enhances the story, every single track in the film is purposeful and fits the scene perfectly. Nicholas Britell composed the score for Moonlight and applied a chopped and screwed technique from hip hop to orchestral music to produce a fluid score that is also bass heavy. Moonlight won an Academy Award for Best Original Score as well as a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score in the Motion Picture category. The score was praised by the New York Times to be “both surprising and perfect.” The score was also described as, “… an enthralling collection of music that will linger in your mind and in your heart in much the same way as the film.” Attention to detail combined with a determined effort allowed many elements of the film to flourish and it is evident that the music had a significant role in making Moonlight amazing.
Moonlight broke many barriers in Hollywood and allowed a story to be told that hasn’t ever been told in the past. This film is monumental because it allows BIPOC (Black, indigenous People of Color) and LGBTQ individuals know that they have a place in mainstream media; not only can they break those barriers, but they can also win awards while doing so. The acting, cinematography and the music combined, created such a breathtaking film that the audience couldn’t ignore it. This film is heartbreaking, thought-provoking as well as an extraordinary story and hopefully it is just the beginning of this type of representation in mainstream media.