The Academy Award Nominated film Moonlight just hit digital rental (after being at the local theater for over a month but only at 6 or 10pm). I gave it a spin since, hey, it’s an important Oscar flick, ‘n all. And, yeah, it’s good but could have served to be shorter (too many notes, amiright?).
This is a coming-of-age story of a young black boy who everyone knows is gay except himself. He is a poor boy in the projects with an addict for a mom and he’s chased and picked on by the other boys. It then flashes forward five or six years where he’s in high school and then forward again ten years. It’s basically about how a young man can become isolated and alone because he lives in a society where he has to be hard and/or learn to avoid bullies and violence.
The first two parts of the movie are very strong… but the third part not so much. I just got tired of it… important things happen in the third act but it had the feel of something that was just delaying and delaying. I wanted it to hurry up and get to the point. And it lost me.
The movie has a sad, quiet, desperate tone and mixes classic music with just the simple sounds of life. It looks great and has some very good camera work/editing. On a technical level, it’s solid.
A part of me was a little annoyed and a little satisfied that we got a coming-of-age sensitive drama about a kid who lives in the projects. The main person he has beef with early on is just the school bully and not a gang member or drug dealer. This is the kind of black movie that doesn’t get made much… yet it’s still set in the hood. What I’m saying is that it’s nice to get a movie with a different take on the black experience… just too bad that it can’t do so without the slums, crackheads, etc.
So, yeah, a good movie – is it worthy of academy awards. Probably… just because it lost me near the end doesn’t mean – and hasn’t meant – that’ll lose everyone. Not in my personal top ten or anything but it’s a well meaning, well-presented slice of life type movie.
Score: 84