Despite homosexuality being more accepted today, it is still a very intense experience to open yourself up about who you are to people you care about. Now, imagine you live in a place that demands intense masculinity. Moonlight posits that specific question. Director Barry Jenkins draws from his personal experiences in Miami to tell a fascinating, powerful story about a man coming to terms with who he is, and the people who “help” him along the way.
Moonlight is about a boy named Chiron (or Little (Alex Hibbert), as he’s called then). We start when he’s a boy. His mom Paula (Naomie Harris) and a drug dealer named Juan (Mahershala Ali) know that Little will probably be gay, but Chiron doesn’t realize it yet. Both try to parent him, giving Little conflicting advice. Flash forward to teenage Chiron (Ashton Sanders), who now knows his personal sexuality but has zero idea who to tell about it. The only possible sympathizer is his friend Kevin (Jharrel Jerome), but Kevin’s proclivities are suspect and peer pressure abounds in school. We then go forward in time again, where a now grown Chiron, called Black (Trevante Rhodes), gets contacted out of the blue by Kevin (Andre Holland), and all his old feelings rush back as he continues to grapple with his personal identity.
Moonlight at its core is a coming out story, that’s very true. However, the location gives the movie specificity. Having witnessed friends/family coming out to loved ones, it is a very mentally difficult ordeal, and potentially emotionally devastating. In the projects in Miami, it must be even more difficult. Much of the personal identity of a boy growing up in poor neighborhoods is informed by alpha male tendencies. As a gay man, Chiron has to bury who he is and be EXTREMELY careful who he reveals his true self to. In addition, any breach of trust by a confidant hurts more and causes Chiron to bury his feelings deeper. Those emotional beats are more powerful in Moonlight, but ubiquitous, giving the movie a deeper emotional connection the audience, one that Chiron craves dearly.
Writer/Director Barry Jenkins effectively tells this story with via three time periods using tremendous actors. As Little, Alex Hibbert knows there is something different about him compared to other boys, but he keeps his mouth shut. Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali (both doing career best work) try their best to mentor Little; however, Paula has personal demons that render her feckless to Chiron’s struggles, so Juan steps to the plate. Both adults with Alex Hibbert effectively set up the time periods to come, in particular a scene with Juan and Little at the dinner table. As a teen, Ashton Sanders is nothing short of amazing at playing a boy at war with himself. He gets picked on constantly, has to take care of his deadbeat mother, and wants to come out desperately, but can’t because of circumstances. The connection between Ashton Sanders and Jharrel Jerome is a welcome happy and profound moment the movie slowly takes its time establishing. However, external forces threaten the teens’ friendship everywhere; watching the two actors show the struggle of teenagers engulfed in macho peer pressure, and results of betrayal from someone you love, is as heart wrenching and powerful a moment at the movies you’ll have this year. Finally, I would watch the Andre Holland/Trevante Rhodes 2 act play of Kevin/Black’s adult lives any day of the week. Their cautious reconnection after significant time apart is riveting and emotionally satisfying. With each peeling back the layers of armor they put up for years, to try to get back to the real people they were before. Every one of these 3 acts is well cast and is amazing on their own, but together they paint an amazing portrait of a specific man.
Moonlight will take you on an emotional journey. Much of the film is seeped in sadness; however, there is enough hope built in that you wait and see what comes next. Moonlight should by itself solve the #OscarsSoWhite issue, again reminding the Academy how easy it is to find strong minority voices if they actually started to look.