Moonlight

I watched this In two sittings and was glad of the break. The three ages of the main protagonist all play their part excellently, and each in their own way shows a sadness and sense of being trapped with a secret that is unacceptable to the people around them, as a child, teenager and adult. Not a world that I've ever seen portrayed before which is why I think it is worthy of its accolades. This feels like an insider account of growing up gay in a tough neighbourhood.

Brooding, challenging and sad but well worth the watch.

Wanted to see as many 2016 films as possible, especially those that won or were nominated for the big awards. Took me a while to see 'Moonlight', with the controversy it garnered when it was announced for the Best Picture Oscar and the amount of hate it's got here part of me was wary.

Finally getting round to seeing 'Moonlight', it turned out that it was more than well worth the while and that the wariness was not needed. '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). Truly admired what it set out to do and found it a brave and powerful film, despite what the detractors say there is far more to 'Moonlight's' appeal than politics, sexuality and race (clearly trying to find conspiracy theories and reasons for why a film they dislike is loved by others, without taking into account that the film simply just connected to and resonated with those who liked it).

'Moonlight' does end on an anti-climactic note, some of the last act is a bit rushed. A longer length would have helped as a result, it also would have helped make a couple of events in the first act a little clearer and not so choppy.

It may not say much new, despite the ground-breaking concept on paper with the exploration of lives rarely seen on film, and doesn't always have subtlety. Then again it is tackling far from subtle themes and a heavy subject, so that sort of was going to be inevitable.

However, 'Moonlight' is an exceptionally well made film. The cinematography and editing are some of the most eye-pleasing and best of that year, and can't find anything to fault the expertly handled direction. The music is cleverly mixed and has haunting power and fluidity.

Regarding the writing, it is not perfect, at times as said a little heavy-handed and vague in parts, but it is thought-provoking and handles very ambitious, relevant, important themes with power, truth and (mostly) delicacy. The story makes the most of the three act structure, it's handled simply but not simplistically and also handled cleverly and with passion, honesty and intelligence. Found myself relating quite a lot to and being moved significantly by the story and found the film handled a heavy and sensitive subject matter with a lot of relevance and importance today more than admirably.

Can't fault the acting, doing wonders with compellingly real characters and strongly defined character relationships (especially the central one). Much has been made of Maharshala Ali and Naomie Harris and deservedly with two of the best performances that year, Ali especially is extraordinary. It is easy though to overlook Alex R. Hibbert, Trevante Rhodes and Ashton Sanders and one shouldn't, as they are just as worthy (particularly Sanders).

Overall, didn't completely blow me away but very well done and with a lot to admire. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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. We first meet "Little" (Alex R. Hibbert) as a young kid who is discovered by a local drug dealer (Mahershala Ali) who tries to teach him some life lesson. We then meet him as a teenager (Ashton Sanders) where he is constantly being bullied while at the same time trying to learn his sexuality. Finally, in the third act, we meet him as an adult (Trevante Rhodes) and see how these earlier events have shaped his life.

MOONLIGHT is a fantastic character study and I'd argue that it's one of the most interesting ever made. 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. A lot of movies try this and it's rare that all three are so believable in their roles that you really do feel as if you're watching one character throughout a period. 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 amount of emotional and realism they bring this character is something really breathtaking to watch. Ali is the real standout though as he plays a man we meet and who at first we don't know anything about him. We slowly learn about his character but the presence Ali brings to the role is something truly excellent to watch and he delivers a knock out performance. Janelle Monáe is also wonderful as his girlfriend as is Naomie Harris as the boy's mother.

Director Barry Jenkins does an extremely wonderful job at keeping the film moving along. There's a terrific visual style including the opening sequence, which just grabs you and pulls you into this world. MOONLIGHT is one of the better character studies out there and it certainly takes you on a fantastic voyage of a boy trying to learn to be himself and become a man.

A sensitive, probing drama. Exploring America through race and sexuality. Beautifully acted, written, directed. To see black Americans portrayed with such complexity is so rare in mainstream American film. And then, on top of this, a sympathetic and positive portrait of gay men. I have a cringe meter which monitors how we, gays, are treated. Goes off constantly in most films. Not Moonlight, not a single cringe meter gong. Wonderful film.

Moonlight is one of the most beautiful and heart-wrenching films that I have ever seen. Many users are expressing disdain or presumed it to be dull. Yet, to see it as such misses the whole point of the film. Moonlight wasn't intended to overtly wow us or give us knowledge about something we didn't already know. Rather the film allowed us to enter and follow a life that I'm sure many have never considered living. Yes, we know some about poverty, queerness, masculinity, and Blackness individually, but to see the conflict of it all so succinctly woven together allowed the complexity of some folks lives to be seen in an unadulterated way. Moonlight wasn't supposed to give us some grandiose finale or even answers, but simply present a narrative that we often don't see. And that's what makes it so simple, painful, yet outstandingly beautiful.

It's also important to remember that just because you don't understand something, that doesn't mean it is unimportant or invalid. Just because you can't relate to the entire story doesn't mean pieces of it can't teach you something about life. Just because the narrative is one that isn't widely told, doesn't mean it should be disregarded. If you don't understand this film or find it a waste, look deep inside yourself and ask why.

10/10 would recommend.