Why Moonlight could win Best Picture
We’re handicapping the odds on the nine Best Picture contenders for the Feb. 26 Academy Awards. Today: Moonlight. Quick pitch: Sexual awakening and life reckonings mark the passage from boyhood to adulthood for a closeted gay Miami man, played at different ages by Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes. Starring: Mahershala Ali, Trevante Rhodes, Janelle Monáe, André Holland, Alex Hibbert and Ashton Sanders Directed by: Barry Jenkins Nominations: 8 Key early kudos: Golden Globes Best Picture — Drama; SAG Best Supporting Actor (Ali) Box office (domestic, U.S. dollars): $21.3 million Ladbrokes odds: 7/1 Paddy Power: 13/2 Sky Bet: 8/1 Why it could win: It’s a compassionate and wise coming-of-age story that speaks to the urgent need to dig below the surface to find truth. Why it might not: The La La Land juggernaut might prove too big for a movie this intimate to overcome. Howell’s line: Moonlight’s glow will endure, with or without Oscar’s gold. Full review: on.thestar.com/2keomF2