After seeing Moonlight last weekend I was left in a daze contemplating the events from the film and trying to piece together my feelings about it.
This film centres around and follows the journey of its main character Chiron a young African American boy growing up in a poor and dangerous neighbourhood in Miami. 'Who is you' is a question that repeats itself throughout the film when we see Chiron at three different stages of his life played by three different actors. The movie is divided into three parts-'Little', 'Chiron' and 'Black' to represent these different stages. Chiron is a quiet and timid boy who doesn't speak much- his timidness maybe come as a result of being brought up by his struggling, drug abusing mother who we often see humiliating and neglecting her son.
The film opens with Chiron or 'Little' being rescued from a derelict house by Juan (Mahersala Ali
who won Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars for this part).Juan although a tough drug dealer has a gentle and caring nature and becomes a pastoral carer to Chiron along with his nurturing partner Teresa (Janelle Monae). Their home is a place of shelter for Little when his mother (played by the outstanding Naomie Harris) decides to not let him into the house as she has company or when she is high on drugs and in an abusive mood. His mother very early on has suspicions that her son may be 'different' when she mocks him in front of Juan commenting on the way he walked. We later on learn that she has called him a faggot when Little asks Juan the meaning of this word.
On top of the struggles Chiron has at home he also faces difficulties at school. In part two of the movie 'Chiron' we see him being bullied by Terrel a menacing ring leader. It is in this part of the film that Chiron explores his feelings of homosexuality. In the first part of the movie we see him strike a friendship with Kevin and in this part their friendship grows closer when they meet one night at the beach under the 'Moonlight'!! However their bond is broken by Terrel who has Kevin humiliate and beat Chiron up at school which is heartbreaking to watch.
Chiron who has been coping with his addict mother and this abuse at school reaches his breaking point and finally decides to fight back by breaking a chair on Terrel's head which leads to an unjust turn of events where he; the victim, is incarcerated.
This leads us into part three of the film where we meet Black (Trevante Rhodes)- a new bulked up Chiron sporting a gold grill. He has lost his bullied status but not the sadness and longing in his eyes. He now lives in Atlanta, Georgia and has fallen into a life of crime. His character slightly mirrors his previous mentor Juan as he has the same tough exterior but a gentle and vulnerable side to him. When he gets a call from Kevin one night after many years something awakens in him again that he thought that he had maybe put to rest.
Moonlight is a beautiful and touching film about our need for connection with others and how easily we can feel alienated for being different. There are also so many beautiful shots in this film-my favourite one is when his mother who is hurling abuse at him is framed by a vibrant pink light. This film doesn't answer all of our questions and leaves the audience wondering about many things. A really beautiful piece of work and one of a kind.
