Movie Review: Moonlight

Every year film nerds (who aren't professional critics) like myself eagerly await to hear the word-of-mouth out of the major film festivals. The buzz generated at these prestigious festival  usually establishes the frontrunners for the year-end awards and give audiences an idea of what films might be worth checking out over the fall and winter months. One of this year's most celebrated films on the film festival circuit was Barry Jenkins' coming-of-age drama Moonlight. The film received near-universal praise for its poetic filmmaking style, striking cinematography and focus on a segment of the population (gay African-Americans) that doesn't get much representation on the big screen. Upon finally seeing Moonlight after a couple months of reading non-stop glowing reviews of it, I couldn't help but feel thoroughly underwhelmed. 

Moonlight tells the story of a Miami-bred gay man named Chiron (Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes in childhood, teenage years and adulthood respectively) over three periods of his life. Facing constant torment from his peers over his sexuality and living with a crack-addicted mother (Naomie Harris) that neglects and emotionally-abuses him, Chiron fears being his true self and chooses to live a life of solitude to mask his internal pain. Chiron's lone source of comfort comes in the form of Kevin (Jaden Piner, Jharrell Jarome, Andre Holland), a classmate who shares his fear of exposing his true self to others. When Kevin betrays him during high school, Chiron goes into a downward spiral that results in him becoming a drug dealer in Atlanta. Several years later, Chiron begins to question his life choices once Kevin suddenly re-enters his life again as an adult.

For a film that is centered around a topic that hasn't been explored in modern American film, Moonlight feels oddly familiar. Aside from the protagonist being a gay male, there's nothing even remotely unique about Moonlight. Anyone that's seen films like Boyz n The Hood or Juice will be able to telegraph every move of Chiron's story well before it happens and that level of predictability prevents a majority of the film's emotional moments from having their desired impact.

While the cliched script and missed opportunities at making power emotional statements left me cold, the terrific acting was enough to keep me engaged. All three actors that portray Chiron and Kevin are believable, natural fits for the role. Jenkins has stated in multiple interviews that he didn't allow any of the actors to meet each other until after production had wrapped and that decision allows each actor to bring their personal touch to their portion of the story without breaking from the true soul of the character. 

The collective of actors that play Chiron and Kevin deserve a lot of credit for pulling off such a complex role, but it's Harris' turn as Chiron's mother that serves as the film's clear standout element. Every one of the handful of emotional moments that land in this film can be attributed to Harris' raw delivery and magnetic yet terrifying presence. This is the type of powerhouse performance that commands the attention of the Academy and I wouldn't be shocked if she ultimately took home Best Supporting Actress in February.  

Moonlight is a beautifully-shot, impressively-acted film that is completely respectable yet almost never exceptional. This film's subject matter and storytelling approach will undoubtedly connect with a large number of audiences, I just felt like it didn't offer up any serious or interesting insight on what its like to be a black gay man growing up in America. I plan on revisiting Moonlight later in awards season to see if a second viewing will change my feelings, but for now I can't help but be disappointed by its reliance on cliches and lack of emotional punch.    

3.5/5 Stars