Movie Review: Moonlight
By Louise Williamson
Recently, I watched Moonlight, the film that won Best Picture in 2016. The film follows Chiron, a young boy whose inattentive mother, Paula, forces him to raise himself until he meets a generous and childless couple, Blue and Theresa. Blue’s kindness and companionship changes his life up until the point of Blue’s untimely death. Chiron struggles with his friends, his family, and everything in between as he tries to build a future for himself on his own after Blue’s death.
The understated acting was genuine and emotional, setting the tone for the film. The cinematography was also creative. I particularly enjoyed how the camera was still during thoughtful, crafted shots, and a little shaky during intense scenes, making the latter seem real and personal. It is details like this that reflect the film’s attentiveness to the accuracy of the portrayal of its own characters. The small things that people say about Chiron’s sexuality, the hints about his mother being a prostitute, and the little things we learn about Blue based on his effect on Chiron are all examples of these details.
Arguably, each and every one of the characters in the film is extremely vivid. Chiron’s mother is such an amazingly written character, including her faults. Paula is also one of these characters: she gets into a bad situation with her pregnancy and later with drugs so she’s extremely protective of what little she does have. I think that she knows she pushed her son away, but she has no idea how to try and reconnect. I also think that it hurts Chiron when Kevin tells him he stopped doing drugs because of his son despite the fact that Chiron’s mother didn’t stop for her own son. The final scene between the two of them is so heartfelt, and I was very satisfied with how things turned out with Paula, which made up for the uncomfortable, open ending.
Unfortunately, the “new and improved” Kevin was very difficult to read. Was he disappointed that Chiron had ended up on the streets? Was he interested in him romantically? Was he hoping to make up for his actions in the past? I couldn’t tell.
What I do know is that, despite this, Moonlight is a beautiful and deeply thoughtful coming of age story that deserved its Oscar.
