Film: Moonlight

GENRE: Drama

RATING: R for violence, sexuality, language
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 51 minutes

STARRING: Mahershala Ali (Luke Cage, Hidden Figures)

Alex R Hibbert (newcomer), Naomie Harris (Spectre, 28 Days Later)

DIRECTOR: Barry Jenkins (newcomer)

WRITER: Barry Jenkins (newcomer)

PLOT: The life of a young black man from childhood to adulthood growing up in a rough Miami neighborhood.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Watching all the Oscar Best Picture nominees

STORY STUFF: Chiron’s life is pretty depressing with his drugged up mom, bullies at school and his struggle with his sexuality. Luckily, there is usually someone who helps him a bit but ultimately lets him down. I have some empathy for Chiron but not as much as I had for the kid in Lion. While the film is well made, the pace is slow and didn’t always keep me engaged.

ACTING STUFF: A lot of praise is being heaped on Mahershala Ali and it is rightly deserved. He is compelling to watch but he is only in the first third of the movie. The three actors who play Chiron at different ages are good but I wasn’t blown away by their performances. Harris plays the disappointing mother to good effect and got an Oscar nomination for it. I would have liked to have seen more with Janelle Monae (Hidden Figures) who plays the ‘adoptive mother’ to Chiron, she was as compelling to watch as Ali.

ARTISTIC STUFF: Not much to stay about the artistic side. The film starts with this fluid camera motion around drug dealers but then goes pretty standard after that. The scene in the ocean, often shown in promotional spots, is also very well shot. The music didn’t grab me. The production design is plain but I think that’s what they are going for.   

VERDICT: Two stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You want to watch all the Oscar Best Picture nominees

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Manchester by the Sea