“Moonlight” is a coming-of-age
drama told in three acts. Chiron, who goes by the nickname Little, is a young black
boy living in the projects of Miami (in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s?). We see he
is a shy, quiet boy who lives with his crack-addicted Mama, and occasionally gets
picked on by his peers. He finds a friend in an adult black man named Juan
who kind of takes him under his wing, providing him with home-cooked meals and opportunities
for safe and open conversations. We get the first glimpse of Chiron’s struggle
with identity: he asks Juan what faggot
means and if he is one. At one point, the little nine-year-old comes home to an
empty house and pours himself a bath using hot water from the stove; I just
wanted to pull him out and hug him tight. Unfortunately, Juan is a drug dealer
who ironically is providing Chiron’s mom with her fixes. When Chiron discovers
this, you can tell it will affect their relationship. We don’t know how it does
though, because act two starts and we learn that Juan has passed away years
ago.
In act two, Chiron is a
teenager who still seems shy and naïve. He has one friend, Kevin, who he has
one (non-explicit) sexual/sensual encounter with while sharing an intimate conversation
on the beach late at night. It’s clear Chiron is inexperienced and perhaps confused,
like many adolescents. Kevin ends up betraying him though when, egged on by the school
bully, he beats up Chiron. This clearly was a turning point in Chiron’s life
that hardened his heart and closed him off from having any other future intimate
relationships of any kind.
In act three, we find Chiron a
decade older, and hardened into manhood. Apparently, upon release from juvie,
he started “trapping” (which I had to look up- it means setting up drug deals
on corners) and made quite a name for himself. I held out hope that he had
listened to Juan’s advice years before, “At some point, you gotta decide
for yourself who you’re going to be. Can’t let nobody make that decision for
you.” I mean, I guess he did; I had just hoped it would be for the positive. The
film ends shortly after Kevin reaches out to him by phone one random day and
Chiron decides to drive back to Miami from Atlanta to visit him. The encounter
is a little awkward as both men avoid talking too much about the past and their
unstable futures. We don’t know what the future holds for Chiron… will he ever turn
his life around and open his heart?
Overall, I thought the movie
was alright. I thought the acting was great. I can appreciate the story itself
and the gravitas it has in today’s society. But I did think the film moved on a
little too slow.
I LOVE the movie poster. It’s
very simplistic in its image and coloring, but intriguing in its effect; the
three actors’ faces are sliced into one face- the three different, but related,
colors also symbolizing the three parts of Chiron’s life journey in the film:
childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The color palette was fitting; in the
first third of the film, Juan explains to “Little” why his nickname was “Blue” (an old Cuban lady said that when little
black boys run under the moonlight, they soak up all the light and look
blue). I couldn’t help but think of the
phrase, “black and blue” throughout the film. Chiron’s body took a beating, but
more importantly, his heart did too.
This film was up against “Arrival”,
“Fences”, “Hacksaw Ridge”, “Hell or High Water”, “Hidden Figures”, “Lion”, “Manchester
by the Sea”, and the one everyone thought would snag the award, “La La Land”. Of
these nominees, I have seen “Arrival” and “La La Land”, but I’m very interested
in seeing a few of the others. I thought “Arrival” was VERY interesting- a
subject I haven’t seen done much in movies (and I’m not talking about alien
invasion). “La La Land” was cute. The ending kind of threw me and I’m not a fan
of Emma Stone, so that may be why I’m not singing its praises (as a BIG fan of
musicals). “Moonlight” also won awards for Best Supporting Actor and Best
Adapted Screenplay. It was the lowest-grossing film among its nominees. From a historical
standpoint regarding the Awards, this is the first film to win Best Picture
that not only had a homosexual main character but also had a completely
non-white cast.
FAVORITE SCENE:
Juan, albeit not perfect, was
the father-figure that young Chiron was missing in his life. “Little” was
desperate for the positive attention and their relationship was special, even
if short-lived. It was reassuring to know that Chiron experienced a parental
love like that in small doses. Who knows where he’d be if Juan (and his sweet
girlfriend) never stepped into his life? One scene that made me smile was when
Juan took Chiron to the beach to teach him to swim. The dialogue is barely
audible over the music, but that’s intentional; it’s not the point. You can see
the trust Chiron has in Juan as he learns to relax in the water and float. The
symbolism here was not lost on me either… Juan’s hands, lightly supporting this
emotionally fragile boy’s body, saying in so few words, “I’ve got you”.
LESSONS LEARNED:
A child’s upbringing shapes who
s/he becomes as an adult. The past leaves physical, emotional, and mental scars
that affect the person’s life forever. This may seem obvious and almost cliché;
but it is painfully apparent how precious the time is when a child is young. As
adults, we have the responsibility to mold and shape our youth, equipping them
with self-confidence, awareness, compassion, hope, and a drive to do good.
Children want (and need) to be
heard. As parents/teachers/friends, we need to lend an ear as they learn to
work through difficulties. We need to be available for them.