Moonlight
MOONLIGHT [2016]
Starring: Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monae, Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, Naomie Harris
Direction by Barry Jenkins
Language: English
In 2016, I turned 11. I had watched La La Land in the cinema, but was too young to watch Moonlight. I loved musicals even then, and so I thought I was supposed to love the movie. So I resented Moonlight when they were the ones that ended up winning the Oscar on that fateful day in 2017. The movie has always been in the back of my mind: I've been wondering about it of late, and it was only until it came up on my Netflix recommended list that I decided to watch it.
Side note: I didn't realise that A24 was involved in the production and distribution of so many critically acclaimed films! Moonlight, Lady Bird, Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Whale, Aftersun. The list goes on and on. A24 is my kind of production house, that's for certain.
What can I say about Moonlight? It was alright, I guess? I don't know. I watched it and I was profoundly bored. There wasn't really a clear enough plot to keep me invested to be honest. I just wish that the storyline had been more linear. I wish I could resonate with the story more, and my head is telling me that there is all kinds of symbolism behind the story. I just didn't pick up on it, I guess. All I can say is that the Academy really loves itself a coming-of-age story.
If anything, the movie just reinforces the unfortunate structure of society: the lack of social mobility for those right at the bottom of society, the cycle of poverty, and the disproportionate level of deprivation that African-Americans get in the US. There isn't even a resolution at the end of this movie! A movie with a depressing plot ended in a depressing way. [Spoiler coming] Who wants to see a person so negatively affected by drugs end up becoming a drug dealer? It really heightened my Monday morning blues (I watched this on a Sunday night).
No singular actor except for the one played by Naomie Harris was on screen long enough to make an actual impression on me. I thought she was brilliant: one of the strongest links in the movie for sure. The contrast between her supposed, almost fake love for her son, her physical weakness due to the effects of drugs, and her feeble attempts at a reconciliation were clear and executed perfectly.
Ok, I like Mahershala Ali: he is normally great. However, I feel like this movie was a rare exception. There was no real contrast in Mahershala Ali's character: he acted as an optimistic mentor throughout his time on screen. His role as a drug dealer gave the writers the scope to put so much more into his role, but ultimately nothing really earth-shattering came out of his performance.
I also love Janelle Monae, and the same can be said about her role. She played such a typical character! A down-to-earth, blunt yet caring faux-mother for the main character. Again, she played it well, but it was the character that was written in such a weak way. Honestly, the writing was not the best in this production as a whole.
The main character's progression through life was split into three distinct stages: childhood, adolescence, and (young) adulthood. Trevante Rhodes performed the worst of all three actors who played the main character: he played the role of a masculine man who has compartmentalised all his past experiences, and pushed everything behind him to become somebody his younger self would hate. There was so much room to incorporate the bitter emotions of regret, anger, or resentment, but that barely came out in her performance! I barely got a whisper of any of this intensity or emotion.
Alex R. Hibbert played the role of the main character in childhood. The problem with playing children in movies is that the extent of what can be played is innocence. Nothing else. The audience, especially in these kinds of movies with difficult themes, is almost supposed to feel pity for a child having to experience these horrible things.
I feel like Ashton Sanders played the main character with the most grit and complexity for sure. The duality of his character was pronounced, and performed in such a way that it sent shivers down my spine.
One minor point that I have neglected to talk about it cinematography, so I'll just mention it briefly. I feel like my experience with this movie would be entirely different if I had been watching it in a cinema fully alert. But, I watched it when I was tired on a phone. Who knows? Maybe on a 10th anniversary or something I'll have the chance to watch it on the big screen.
Overall, I understand that the movie was a big deal for not only the black community, but the LGBT+ community as well. And whilst I fully appreciate the significance of the movie and recognise how great it is that the film has come so far, it just wasn't my cup of tea.
4.5/10
