Moonlight was able at my library in the Hot Picks area, and knowing it was on my list, I went ahead and picked it up. Considering I had just finished Shakespeare in Love, I was looking forward to a different movie that might actually make me think and that had critical acclaim. Just to refresh your memory, Moonlight was the film that Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway called La La Land at last year's Oscars. Oops.
Even though it's only been a year since the film was released, I could already tell that Moonlight was something special half an hour into the film. The story is set up as three acts, covering three different time periods in Chiron's life. As a kid, Chiron is taunted for being different than the other kids, and one scene in particular left me aching for him. Chiron asks Juan about being called a f*****, and Juan has to explain what that word means. Juan has become a father figure for Chiron, and it's Juan's grace in this challenging conversation that amazed me. I actually held my breath as Juan worked through an answer to Chiron's question. The love and compassion that Juan has for this kid, who isn't his own, is so touching.
The contrasts in the film really interested me. Chiron as an adult is so different than what I expected based on his childhood and teen years. But the film teaches a lesson in judging others: while Chiron may seem different as an adult, as the film plays out, he's still the same person. His encounters with his mother in all the stages are heartbreaking; as an addict, she goes from being nurturing to despondent to negligent to regretful. Her last scene with the adult Chiron reveals just how much regrets what happened, and we completely understand her regrets because we saw what she did.
People need to see this film. Sure, it's not a feel good film in the truest sense of that label, but its honesty and love are so compelling that you feel good by the end because of what those can overcome.
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