*Spoilers ahead
Moonlight a story directed by Barry Jenkins and released in the second half of 2016, this film follows the story of a young black man named Chiron. Moonlight is one of A24's most critically a claimed films achieving many awards such as "Academy Award for Best Picture (2017)" and "Academy Award Best Actor in a Supporting Role Mahershala Ali (2017)".
Moonlight is a powerful coming of age story separated into three acts following a gay man's journey, from childhood to adulthood. The first act of the film being him as a young boy known as Little, then in the second him being a young man going through high school in a troubled neighbourhood going by the name of Chiron and the final act being him as a full blown adult nicknamed Black. The film perfectly depicts a young mans struggle in order to find himself. The film is packed with intricate details that are astonishing.
Chiron as a character is one who you can't help but feel empathetic towards due to his many struggles and challenges he had to face throughout his life. The three actors who played Chiron executed three excellent performances that are sincere and heart felt. The three chapters in the film represent the identity he assumes are given to him. Throughout the film the character of Chiron grows and adapts by the environment he lives in adopting different names. Moonlight is my favourite film released in 2016 which is a bold statement due to the amount of amazing films produced in that year. One reason that this film is my favourite from 2016 is the characters in the film and their ability to evoke emotion.
Chiron is a very interesting character as he questions his identity through the film, constantly facing the question of who he is. The first time i saw this film, I was blown away by how great the story telling was in the entire film as it stays precise and consistent, as i love the journey shown of the character of Chiron. One thing Barry Jenkins does excellently is he en captures the audience drawing them in making us feel so emotionally attached to a character, which is astounding as he does this in the space of 110 minutes.
One of the key things in this film is the imagery of water. One interesting detail being how Chiron and Black are linked when he dips his face in to the sink full of ice water, as even though it seems he has drastically changed, this shown physically as he is larger and looks strong, it also seems he is emotionally cold and numb. However, it still tells us that its still the same person and as he still struggles with his identity as it is all a facade. One of my favourite scenes in the film is the diner scene in the third chapter of the film. This scene begins with an unbroken take as Barry Jenkins uses his actors to tell the story without using any words building tension. Form the moment that Chiron walks into the diner the camera almost moves around the diner as if it is floating suggesting that love is in the air. The camera always seems to track Kevin around the room telling us how him and Chiron are connected almost as if Chiron cant take his eyes off of him even though he isn't looking at Kevin. However this is then broken by two close ups of the actors faces, even though we hear the two speaking there mouths never move making the moment even more electric as after such a long time has passed the two are back together. My favourite shot in the film is the still shot of the diner's door. This shot is extremely well done as it is a point of view shot from Chiron that connotes the loneliness that he has felt throughout his life, this shot is very cold and on the surface may come across as meaningless however it tells us how Chiron is debating leaving the Diner and not turning back, forgetting the emotions he feels towards Kevin and neglecting who he truly is.
While there is memorable dialogue in Moonlight its more about what isn't said and how it resonates with the audience. Jenkins' ability to connect with the viewer is perplexing as he shows a deep understanding of what makes us humans react, how we form relationships and what makes us who we are.
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