It was a shock When Moonlight won Best Picture some years ago. The victory journey it took on is a miracle. It was a movie with no household names, although Mahershala Ali’s Best Supporting Actor Moonlight is the little movie that could, and the fact that it made it to the Oscars is quite a shock. Its director had only one feature film to his name, Medicine for Melancholy.
However, the movie became the critics’ darling and did not sell out in theatres. It was a movie about a poor, gay, black young man in the housing projects that came up against a movie musical about Hollywood.
In this article, we’ll talk about why Moonlight deserves a watch!
The Writing
Award-winning playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney wrote a sketch of the play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue while in drama school. It was a personal project for him and the director of Moonlight, Barry Jenkins. Both creatives spent their childoods in Liberty City, Miami, ; their mothers were addicts and HIV-positive, like Chiron’s mother. Due to their creative and excellent collaboration, they shared the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, although to people, it might seem like a gamble in an online casino.
Dialogue is not the only thing about the script that was masterful; even the descriptions are well-written. You’ve got lines like “kind of day where phosphorous fumes wave above the asphalt”.
The story of Moonlight is grounded in reality but cathartic. It is about a man who makes peace with his racial and sexual identity in a community where those two are not often embraced by each other.
Its Handling of Generational Trauma and Sexuality
One of Moonlight’s strengths is its nuance. Chiron struggles with his homosexuality and masculinity, but as he grows through the years, he begins to understand them better truly. His love is tested over the years, but the power of Moonlight’s writing is excruciating and heartbreaking.
It is only in the latter part of the film that he decides to set himself free after transforming into someone similar to Juan, a drug dealer. The way he is written and depicted symbolises what society deems as “bad”, but when at their lowest point, they are lost in their motivations, emotions and dreams and need to self-actualize.
When the movie ends, he breaks the cycle of trauma and toxic masculinity he experiences in his life. He goes back to when he was a kid, when he was told that black boys looked blue under the moonlight.
What Moonlight does with Chiron’s mother is very cathartic, especially for POC who have suffered from generational trauma. These stories are rarely told and less woven together.
The Acting
The acting is one thing that makes Moonlight top tier. The actors portray the protagonist’s three stages of life excellently. There is consistency and change in how the actors mirror the character’s state of mind and psychological state at the time.
Wrapping Up
Moonlight may be unconventional compared to Lalaland, but it has a unique charm. It is a personal story that is well-acted and powerful and holds up so well even today. It has now become part of Barry Jenkins’ prolific cinematography and work that tackles black identity and culture.
