Moonlight is a breath of fresh air Moonlight (M)
111 mins Moonlight is an extraordinary film on several grounds. The recent Golden Globe winner for best drama stars little-known (but up-and-coming) actors, is only the second feature film from writer-director Barry Jenkins, and revolves around a young black man’s coming of age and coming to terms with his homosexuality.
With deserved Oscar and Bafta buzz growing by the day, it is encouraging that a film that heralds a combination of so many marginalised groups of society should be getting the praise it merits and the audience it demands.
‘‘Little’’ Chiron is growing up on the rough streets of Miami, Florida, with his drug-addicted single mother (a long stretch from Miss Moneypenny for Brit Naomie Harris), and a host of school bullies who sense there is something different about him, even if he’s not quite sure himself.
Young Alex Hibbert’s debut performance as the bewildered lad is heart-breaking in its truth and simplicity, and sets the bar high for a story that traverses three periods in the protagonist’s life.
We then see him grow into Ashton Sanders’ (also superb) personification, as Chiron attempts to find himself during high school, at which time the obstacles in his life’s course become more formative.
Jenkins’ strengths in telling this straightforward yet devastating story are manifold, from the beautiful photography (lots of long takes that circle the oblivious actors who inhabit their roles with such authenticity) to the enormously astute performances he has elicited from his largely unknown and young cast.
Supported by Hidden Figures‘ Janelle Monae and Mahershala Ali (both stunning here), and an incredibly natural young actor named Jharrel Jerome, Chiron’s path is disrupted by challenges but still touched by love.
Moonlightmanages to avoid all the cliches of portraying gangster life, poverty, and budding homosexuality, while the characters are also so welldrawn they feel familiar.
While much more serious in tone, in a way its themes make it an unintentional companion piece to Hidden Figures, with both films’ championing of marginalised and discriminated people offering a worthy lesson and a breath of fresh air. – Sarah Watt