Barry Jenkins’s touching coming of age drama Moonlight knows how to deliver profound, thoughtful moments and character development not by excess sensationalism or melodramatic, but through simple humanity. It tells its story almost with a surgeon’s touch. Some of the most emotionally impactful parts are shown using awkward glances, expressions and believable dialogue that doesn’t steer into monologues.
Based on Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue”, the film follows a shy young man from South Florida named Chiron over the course of fifteen years, documenting his emerging sexual identity and journey towards self discovery. Three actors portray Chiron through a trilogy of stories that showcase his evolution, as well as his insecurities and desire to be accepted. His arc is an atypical- and yet refreshing- portrayal of the Black American experience on film, unstereotypical and feeling neither sugarcoated nor exploitative.
As a ten year old, Chiron- during this period nicknamed “Little “(Alex Hibbert)- is bullied by the other kids for what they perceive as his lack of manhood, chasing the poor kid into an abandoned house and hurling objects his way. Not one initially for long conversations, he befriends a local drug dealer named Juan (Luke Cage ‘s Mahershala Ali) and his girlfriend Teresa (an endearing Janelle Monae), finally summoning the courage to open up to them.
They act as a save haven from ongoing conflicts between Little and his mother (Naomie Harris), an overworked nurse who is struggling with a drug problem (fueled in part by Juan’s product) and is embarrassed by her son’s emerging identity. One scene where she verbally lashes out at Little is artfully directed by Jenkins, and with the help of sharp cinematography from James Laxton, it proves to be one of the film’s most emotionally devastating moments.
Chiron’s one peer, friend and childhood crush is Kevin, who is also aided by good performances from three different actors over the trilogy. Jaden Piner plays his youngest incarnation, encouraging Little to stand up to the local bullies, while Ashton Sanders’s awkward teenage Chiron and Jharrel Jerome’s Kevin have a fling in high school. This eventually serves as the root of an experience that dramatically changes Chiron’s view of life.
As an adult, Chiron- nicknamed “Black”- is played by Trevante Rhodes as someone who has willingly transformed himself, or at the very least the image he wants to project to the world. Andre Holland is impeccably charming as the fully grown Kevin, and his encounter with his longtime friend leads to a deeply affecting third act and some of the film’s best performances. Kevin tries to look into Chiron’s eyes and pushes him to open up more, but he’s resistant at first.
When it comes to movies about adolescent angst, Moonlight is remarkably well balanced, intelligent and moving. It also subtly weaves in social commentary without shoving its message in the face of the audience, instead relying on Chiron’s perspective as he grapples with who he is as a man, specifically a gay Black man in a still deeply homophobic society. The film overall is rather slow moving, so it does require patience from the audience, but I can assure you the payoff is worth it. It gradually builds to an emotional reckoning for him that showcases his evolution, in a manner that makes sense as well. Its climax is both heartwarming and dramatic, and doesn’t betray its gritter elements.
Moonlight’s story is seemingly small-scale, yet it feels large in the complexity of its story and characters. Not to mention it’s neither needlessly grim or overly sappy. Many of its moments are difficult to watch at times, but it never gets to where it feels depressing. It is brutally honest, but it still has an optimistic message in favor of compassion, and I left the theater with a very good, hopeful feeling internally. At once shocking, thought provoking and still endearing, as a film it succeeds in a variety of ways, Based on that, I can highly recommend it.