REVIEW #379 Moonlight (2016)

Chiron, a young boy from Miami, finds guidance from Juan, a drug dealer and their relationship leaves a lasting impression on Chiron’s entire life.

Moonlight tackles tough themes such as loneliness, sexuality and unstable upbringings, but does so with elegance, hooking the audience to Chiron’s story as it takes you on an amazing, yet emotional coming of age journey. This is another example of a character driven, high quality film from A24, who have such an eye for storylines that will leave a lasting impression on its audience. For me the relationship between Juan and Chiron is the heartbeat of the movie, the two characters playing a guiding light in each others lives. On the surface it may seem like it’s just Juan looking out for the young boy, but Chiron is the metaphorical mirror causing Juan to assess his own life and the remorse of his profession really starts to kick in. It’s a beautiful relationship, but unfortunately it’s cut way too short and by the time the first act finishes, Juan is gone and personally I think they did that a little too soon! The cinematography is kept simple, yet it’s super effective, smart framing and a subtle colour pallet that gives the movie a calm vibrance which I really enjoyed. Finally, I want to mention the performances which were really impressive. Everyone executed their characters perfectly and that expression really drove home the themes sewed into the storyline. A really strong film, one I’d recommend to anyone who hasn’t had a chance to watch it yet.

Overall (8.8/10)

Thanks for reading.

Callan