Film Review: Compassionate and Hopeful, “Moonlight” is Devastatingly Genuine

By Editor November 4, 2016 11:15

By Anthony Hernandez

Moonlight is a humane, un-exploitative film woven with threads of genuine empathy, filled with real hope and heartbreak, and is – without any doubt – one of the best films of the year. It’s a simple story about a difficult subject matter that never over-reaches or devolves into melodrama. Its emotional edge is sharp; and the complexity of the subject matter, along with the number of issues it presents, is never lost, nor is it presented forcibly. Moonlight is a film that demands attention.

It follows a young man named Chiron who is coming of age and who lives with his addict mother in Miami during the “War on Drugs” era. The struggle to find himself is told flawlessly across three defining chapters of his life as he experiences joy, pain, and love – all while grappling with the heartache of bullying, the loss associated with parental abandonment and the simple, but crucial moments that marked (and defined) his budding sexuality.

The performances are impeccable and every actor who worked on this film should be commended. As far as the story and plot are concerned, there isn’t anything cinematically groundbreaking – despite the solid production values, including some intimate, sometimes dizzying cinematography and deftly executed editing. Instead, the movie almost plays as a voyeuristic look into the life of another. It evokes the kind of experience that Boyhood gave us two years ago, but without the 12-year gimmick that sold the movie (and garnered it, in retrospect, far more praise than it probably deserved).

Director Barry Jenkins takes what could be argued as a semi-nontraditional approach to the three-act structure, as each act is balanced by equal weight and impact. Each act could stand on its own, with three actors – equally superb – playing the same person at three different ages. And within each act, a series of nuanced moments culminate in a film that is whole, has great weight, forces introspection and evokes real emotion.

We’re given the beginning, but it finishes on an open-end – and the series of moments Chiron experiences all lead to something that isn’t the end, but a new beginning. It’s as genuine as real life – a never-ending series of moments captured in an infinitesimal span of time (on the grand scheme) that carry enough significance to keep us pressing onward. This story is just one more moment in time; a moment of hope.

Moonlight is playing in limited release – and in the Valley, exclusively at Harkins Camelview Fashion Square. See this movie.