Moonlight

"At some point, you gotta decide for yourself who you're going to be. Can't let nobody make that decision for you."

Barry Jenkins’s ethereal Moonlight chronicles three movements in the life of Chiron, a boy struggling with self-appreciation, a fatherless home, and his emerging sexuality during the War on Drugs era.

You’ll notice that the first adjective I used to describe Moonlight is “ethereal.” Of course, such a word can be used to over exaggerate many different things, with film being no exception. “Ah, but this film can’t possibly be that good,” you say. “It is nothing more than a good movie.” I have come here to tell you personally: that assumption is wrong. Wrong in every way, shape, and form.

Movements one, two and three: a few of the pivotal points in our main character’s life. All of the segments are roughly equal to each other, highlighting just enough points in Chiron’s experiences. Usually, when messing around with the time frame so much, performances wind up being heavily inconsistent, with the child actor usually being the most out of place. Oh… but not this film. Not Moonlight.

These three different actors (the stunning debut of Alex R. Hibbert, revelatory Ashton Sanders, and past-haunted Trevante Rhodes) combine and complement each other to such an extent that, in the end, they all form together one person; one singular human being. Not three, not two, not one-and-a-half, but one. It even goes to the point if one wins a major award, the others should, too.

The feverish music, stunning cinematography, inanely focused directing: it all morphs, all mixes into this wonderful film, this wonderful experience: Moonlight.

I implore you: do not watch any trailers for this film. If you see a TV commercial for it, do your best to shut if off immediately; the most you should know is its plot outline, a numbered amount of stills, and its quality. Go into it blind, and enjoy. You might just end up a different person than when you went in.

10/10- There are two stages in this life: before Moonlight and after Moonlight. Do yourself a favor and reach that second stage.