"Moonlight" | Review and Analysis

2016 - Drama/LGBTQ+

Spoilers beware!

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Wow. That was my first reaction upon finishing Moonlight, the masterpiece that achieved its well-deserved Oscar. The plot, while straightforward and simple, was beautifully executed through its cinematic shots, lack of unnecessary exposition, and wonderful buildup. While utilizing an all-black cast, the film had documented the life of a young boy through childhood to adulthood on his journey of self-discovery. The story had also touched on the realities of LGBTQ+ youth, making it a touching experience that many within both the LGBTQ+ and black community could relate to. As a black woman myself, I was intrigued throughout the entire telling of this wonderful story.

Too often, movies featuring black actors, especially ones nominated for Oscars, are one that focus on slavery and black trauma. It’s tiring and feels like an unending cycle that continues to be the focal point for any film starring or centered on a black cast. Moonlight, however, strayed away from that cliché, rather focusing on not the color of skin but rather the experience a young child encounters while undergoing a difficult childhood. The story also shed light on the harsh reality many within the LGBTQ+ community experience when growing up and coming to terms with their sexuality.

Our main character, Chiron, deals with a drug-addicted mother that focuses little on raising her son. He gets bullied, beaten, and called names from the other kids in school. We witness him during his child, teen, and adult years, watching these struggles and even when he shares a kiss and intense sexual scene with one of his close friends, Kevin. Kevin later betrays Chiron, inflicting violence on him due to the coercing from another student, while simultaneously shaming Chiron for his sexuality. Years later, once they’re both adults, we finally see the reunion between them in which they discuss the feelings they had for each other when they were teens, as well as the brutal incident that led to them never having spoken to each other again until a decade later.

This story was truly one of love, friendship, family, and a poetic display of self-discovery from a soft-spoken boy struggling to find his place in the world; in a rough neighborhood that begs to see his downfall every time he refuses to stay down. He attempted to keep the peace with everyone in his life by giving what little money he had to his begging mother and listening when he was harshly criticized at school for his sexuality and mother’s drug addiction. He never said much back in retaliation, as he wanted to be accepted, all while having very little people in his life that believed he deserved that.

After being betrayed by the one person in school he believed understood him, coupled with all the abuse and mistreatment he endured throughout his life, it was no surprise that he finally snapped and sought revenge against the guy who orchestrated Kevin to beat Chiron in school. With his face wounded and bloodied from the previous day’s beating, he entered into a classroom and hit his bully from behind with a chair, thus, completing the last scene viewers see from his teen years as it ends with his arrest. He finally had stood up for himself.

Our main character, Chiron, didn’t speak much, but the camera angles would focus on facial expressions and cut scenes to describe the ways he feels. For instance, the shots of his mom silently screaming towards the camera to signify the viewers in the perspective of Chiron; it was as if to say he had gotten so used to the abuse that, eventually, he tuned it out and went numb to it. The scene at the end where we see adult Kevin and Chiron finally discussing their feelings, with the addition of a cutscene showing a young Chiron looking back at them, had also been an instance that remained a symbolic reference.

Throughout his life, Chiron had never been open about how he felt, always silently observing those in his life that repeatedly treated him horribly. The cutscene of a young Chiron looking back after his adult self had finally opened up had not only stayed true to the running theme of utilizing cutscenes to showcase his feelings, but also remained a true testament to the reality of Chiron finally developing his voice. He no longer was the silent boy that felt there would be punishment for speaking his mind. He finally had the chance to say what he had never gotten the chance to do before, and I thought that was a beautiful way to finish off this film that focused on self-discovery, expression, and human connection. Also, just have to say the lighting in this movie was perfect! The lighting designers definitely knew what they were doing in terms of knowing how to properly light and film darker-skinned individuals.