"Moonlight" has received so much critical acclaim that, maybe, I was expecting too much. Director Barry Jenkins's script is sharply divided into three sections, emphasizing certain aspects of the African-American experience: extreme poverty, drug addiction, single motherhood and rendering them only in the most basic, narrative forms. Each section follows Chiron at various points in his life (Alex Hibbrt as a shy child, Ashton Sanders as an awkward, searching adolescent and Trevante Rhodes as a cynical adult) as Chiron comes to understand and accept his homosexuality. Unfortunately, the details of the story are so broadly sketched that it left me with a lot of unanswered questions. And the camera work, dizzying around and around shots, and shaky, hand-held shots, drove me crazy. I guess that in itself was enough to put me off of this movie.
However, the acting does elevate the script into something approaching excellence. Mahershala Ali as a drug dealer with a heart of gold is excellent as an understanding father-figure to Chiron, but scenes later he's gone and you're wondering why. Hubert has the least to do of the three Chirons, but his nearly mute performance is compelling for the pain etched onto his face. And later in the film, the adult Chiron reunites with his friend Kevin (Andre Holland) and the chemistry is palpable. Nothing in the film is as moving as this reunion scene. "Moonlight" has already won awards and should do well come Oscar time.
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