Moonlight (Spoilers!)

 

Moonlight is a film created in 2016, and directed by Barry Jenkins. It starred Alex R. Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes, who all played the same character, but at different ages, Chiron. The film started off when Chiron was a little boy, and his nickname was Little. He was constantly running from bullies and his home life and felt alone. His mother was a substance user, and he ran away and hid after school. One day a man named Juan found him and took him under his wing, which was a very touching part of the story. The two then bond as they spend time at Juan's house when Juan and his girlfriend Teresa realize he does not want to go home. After spending many days together, the viewer then realizes that Juan is a drug dealer and is supplying drugs to Chiron's mother, which we can tell haunts him. Juan, a big father figure to Chiron, is then presumed dead in the second act of the film. In this second act, Chiron is now in high school and faces more problems. His mother kicks him out at night because she has men over every night, and she also begs him for money. Chiron is also dealing with his sexuality, as he thinks he might be gay. This then leads to a scene of Chiron and his friend Kevin on the beach where they share an intimate moment. The next day Kevin is dared to beat Chiron up, and this leads to Chiron fighting the guy who dared him and he got sent to jail. This then leads to act three where we see Chiron grown up. He became a drug dealer, but seemingly has his life together as well as himself. He then gets a call from Kevin where he implies Chiron should go down to see him and he will cook for him because he's a chef. When he goes to visit Kevin, things are a little awkward and I was unsure where it would go. After the awkward conversation in the restaurant, it leads to they end up at Kevin's apartment, where the movie ends with another intimate and sweet moment between them. 

Overall, I thought this was a great film. I wanted there to be more and although I was satisfied with the ending, I wanted to see more and watch the rest of his life pan out. However, I think the movie ending the way it did leaves a lot to the viewer and they can decide where it goes from there. Whether they have an intimate, long-lasting relationship, or if it was just a one-night stand. This movie was also very fast-paced in my opinion and only felt like an hour long. I think this was because it was split up into three parts of Chiron's life and each part I wanted to see more. I also thought it did a great job of capturing the reality of what it would be like to be Chiron. I had found myself needing to take breaks because of the amount of emotional toll all of this was putting on Chiron, even if he didn't show it.

I think this movie was a 10/10 and can see why it won the Academy Award for Best Picture. All the actors were great and I really felt for all of them. It was such an important film to watch as it is heartbreaking but necessary. Some may say that Chiron ended up in a bad position because he became a drug dealer, but some may say that it is all he's ever known. His mother was a drug user, and his father figure was a drug dealer. He also really looked up to Juan which is why he might've become a drug dealer as well. All in all, this was an excellent movie, and would definitely recommend it if you life emotional, insightful, and powerful movies.