Moustroll
Good movie but grossly overrated
ThedevilChoose
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Voxitype
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
leotheris
Moonlight is considered a pretty big movie in the movie scene; winning prizes such as Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role among two hundred other awards. Winning three oscars isn't an easy feat, and I congratulate the movie and it's makers for reaching such an amazing feat. But truth to be told? It does not deserve it.The movie starts strongly, with amazing acting produced by Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris, but decays afterwards into what can be simply categorized as overrated. The first period of the whole movie (of three total) is superb, acting-wise, visually, and in terms of writing and dialogue, but then it is replaced by uneeded timeskips that could have been used to make the movie far more thrilling and deserving of the oscars. There were plenty of situations and times when acting could've done the job, but it was always kicked in it's teeth by a timeskip, equally boring was the writing, portraying unfortunately an awesome concept but still ultimately leaving you with nothing in the end. Yes, it is black people. Yes, it is homosexual people. But so what? These two automatically do not push anything into a good movie.The middle and end section of the movie goes through so flawlessly, with minimal conflict and little chance for the actors to shine in the drama genre. The ending, what could've been amazing, intense situation - is instead shrunk into a twilight-romance that just doesn't cut it for three oscars. If you've seen the movie, you must see it; there's just no way the ending is so simple as it is portrayed. Why was there no explanation or delving further into the adult protagonist? He was an empty shell, and not because the story wanted it that way - but because the story didn't ever produce anything to make us feel we ever needed, or wanted, the end that we got.Visually however: a masterpiece. The colours are not only flawless and the angles and beautiful scenery pushes this movie from complete garbage (again, aside from the beginning), to an acceptable movie. The colours specifically root into your memory, with specific colours and specific designs on character's clothes making you easily interpret who they are and understand the scenes with masterful ease.It's a shame that with such a badass, thought-provoking concept, the beautiful colours, and the awesome introduction, the rest of the movie became lackluster and in the end, overrated.
Grant Bullert
"Moonlight" is thought provoking and sincere. It tells deep truths and holds interest throughout. However, it feels empty during some moments when it should really be the most powerful.-Analysis of Notable Work- *Writing/Story/Directing: "Moonlight" starts out strong with the childhood of Little. He starts to learn he is different from others. We see the pain this causes him. We also experience the brokenness of his family; his mom is hardly a mother to him. But some kindhearted people take him and shape his life. He is drawn to them, and this is beautiful. Overtime, Little grows up and prefers to be called by his name, Chiron. His life changes and he figures out who he is a bit more. We really start to connect with Chiron during this part of his life. Then, as we jump into his adulthood, he becomes distant from the story. The film begins to lose its momentum, and we don't get a strong piece of storytelling until the very end. Kevin turns out to be a more developed character in the last third of the movie than Chiron/Black is. Barry Jenkins shows promise as a director. He commands powerful moments and gets the most out of his cast, but I think he has a lot more potential than what the final product ended up being. *Cinematography/Editing: The visual storytelling is a strong suit of this film. James Laxton composes beautiful and powerful images that tap into the emotion of each scene. His use of color is powerful and memorable. There is a constant tone of melancholy and disconnection through the camera angles and movement. In many scenes, we are pushed very close to characters when we see Chiron's point of view, and it leaves us with a feeling of being closed in on and trapped. The depth of field also gives us hints of Chiron's feeling of being disconnected with others. The performances of the actors are placed higher in importance than having fancy camerawork, and that is a strength of this film. The editing adds so much beauty to this film. There are no quick cuts. We take our time focusing on characters and the things going through their minds. The pacing makes this film seem so much more natural and grounded in emotion. Less is more sometimes, and when it comes to editing in this film, they understood that and used it to their advantage. *Dialogue/Acting: Once again, less is more. There were no grand revelations through long monologues or verbiage. The conversations felt sincere and honest. There was power in the smallest of lines because it was coupled with strong performances from the actors. There were not many weak performances throughout the whole film. One of the weakest performances was by Trevante Rhodes. I am not sure whether it was a directorial decision or if Rhodes has a lack of range, but he stayed in the same mood for each scene he was in. Most of the other performances were authentic and powerful. *Music/Sound: The score was subdued but still carried a lot of weight. It was melancholic and beautiful; perfectly reflecting the tone set by the other aspects of the film. The sound design did its job. The most noticeable parts were when sound cut out, revealing to us that Chiron was pushing some of his experiences to the background. *Production Design/Special Effects: The costume and set pieces were beautiful and played a central role in setting up the feeling of the film. There are not many uses of special effects, but the film did not need them. The only instance that required it was the beating of Chiron, and it held up as being relatively realistic. *Conclusion: "Moonlight" is a beautiful film that follows the life of a young black man who struggles to find who he is and what he will become. It is heartbreaking, hopeful, and down to earth.
fabraley
This film has been beautifully written and directed, very well edited with an excellent original score and cinematography.
there are always moments when you are by yourself, just thinking, walking, taking a bath, cooking or eating and i feel it is very important to show this moments in cinema, they are human and natural. one of the reasons i have fallen in love with Moonlight is the way it shows you this while also having very intense and dramatic scenes.
quiet scenes are important, when you can clearly see all the emotions the characters are carrying inside without saying anything at all and that's another thing i appreciated a lot. the score adds so much to the story and performances and makes it much more complete and thrilling. this film tells its story in a very slow, gentle and smart way that fills you with both joy and heartache. there is a lot going on in this little boy's life and you can see how affected he is by all of it, how he discovers who he really is, how he deals with all the pain he is enduring.
impeccable performances by all the cast, director Barry Jenkins has created an important and breathtaking film that a lot of people needed to see, specially gay black boys whose stories are rarely told or heard. moonlight is a very rich and emotional piece of art.
proud_luddite
In three stages of life - youth, adolescence, and young adulthood - the life story of Chiron is told. Chiron is an African-American who grows up in a poor, black community in Miami and later moves to Atlanta. His early life is plagued by bullies and a difficult home life as his single mother is very troubled. During these bad times, he is consoled by surrogate parents that he visits occasionally and his friend Kevin with whom he shares a sexual attraction in the teen years.The scenes of bullying are so accurate that they are sometimes difficult to endure. They include the "blame the victim" mindset that too often accompanies bullying. Luckily, there is relief in lighter scenes such as when Chiron visits his surrogate parents where a bond is clearly growing.There is a brilliant scene at the end when the adult versions of Chiron (Trevante Rhodes) and Kevin (André Holland) are reunited. The mutual sexual tension between the actors under Jenkins' guided hand create a very unique scenario leaving the viewer on edge, wondering what will happen next. Will they actually connect? (It's also fascinating how they resemble the pair in "Brokeback Mountain" where one partner is more outgoing while the other is more reserved and afraid due to his difficult past. The same match also occurred in "Being 17".)This perfect scene is unfortunately cut too short. If it had continued at the same pace and the viewer saw the men connect, I would have given this film as high a rating as most others are giving it. It's hard to guess why Jenkins (also the film's writer based on a story by Tarell Alvin McCraney) made this choice. It may be the general sexist attitude among filmmakers regarding love scenes between same-sex couples. When such scenes are between two women, their naked bodies are seen flailing across the screen for several minutes but this is rarely, if ever, the case when the bond is between two men. To use the clichéd excuse of "leaving the rest to the viewer's imagination" is a cowardly cop-out. Another reason an extended love scene would have worked: the love would have helped balance the many hardships exposed in the beginning. This criticism is not so much against "Moonlight" but against the film industry in general. In fairness, "Moonlight" is more courageous than most films.There is much else to praise in "Moonlight". In addition to the great performances by Rhodes and Holland (who also create great chemistry together), there are also praiseworthy performances by Naomie Harris as Chiron's mother (her final scene is a standout) and Mahareshala Ali as Chiron's surrogate father in the film's beginning. Credit must also be given to the young actors who played the younger versions of both Chiron (Alex Hibbert and Ashton Sanders) and Kevin (Jaden Piner and Jharrel Jerome). Much discussion has occurred lately regarding the under-utilization of the very talented pool of black actors. When movies like this one use such talent so generously, all moviegoers benefit.
