Moonlight

2017

Director: Barry Jenkins

Starring: Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, Alex R. Hibbert, Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monae, Andre Holland, Jharrel Jerome, Jaden Piner

Words: Josh Senior

You’d like to hope that Moonlight is remembered for the genius piece of film-making that it is, as opposed to being the subject of all the Academy Awards controversy it attracted.
Barry Jenkins’ Best Picture winner is a knockout punch of a tale that focuses on ideals of sexuality and familial bonds.

We follow the life of Chiron, a young black homosexual man, through three chapters in his life each focusing on a different phase of his youth and adolescence; starting out around the age of ten in Little, then into his high-school years in Chiron, finally rounding things up in his early twenties in the final chapter entitled Black.
Chiron suffers throughout as he not only has to deal with his Mother’s drug abuse, but also with his sexual preferences which see him isolated and bullied for being homosexual. As the film progresses we see how he deals with both of these issues and how they shape his life as he gets older.

Moonlight is a visual delight, shot in majestic fashion, and is fully deserving of its Awards recognition.