Shots

BCU

This BCU of Chiron puts us in the position of Kev as Chiron gets up from his beating. It shows us Chiron’s indomitable spirit and emotional strength, able to stand up to someone who was a friend after being beaten down. We are shown his stoic expression in extreme detail, which makes the audience respect him as a character.

LS

This long shot puts us in the shoes of Chiron hiding from the group of bullies. It shows us the futility of Chiron’s situation, showing us all of the open space on school grounds, blocked off from him by one small group of people.

CU

This close up of Chiron after the bullies attacked him after forcing Kev to punch him gives the audience a sense of Chiron’s pain. It shows us the blood over his face, the cold water that makes his skin glisten in the school bathroom light. It shows us Chiron’s frustration and anguish in detail, as well as representing his loneliness by giving a close up on his face against an empty white wall. This shot also precedes the scene where Chiron breaks a chair over Tyrell’s head, and this shot gives us Chiron’s emotional motivation for his action by showing his mental state

Camera Angles

Bird’s Eye

This bird’s eye shot of Kev and Chiron on the beach shows them close together on an uneven backdrop that is the sandy floor. This gives the viewer a strong sense of friendship between the two, and the plain sand backdrop against the two looking up at the camera, breaking the 4th wall in a sense, creates a strange atmosphere, almost like a dream.

Eye Level

This eye level shot of the “Little” segments Chiron and Kev portrays a sense of comradery between the two. We get the sense that they are equals and friends.

Low Angle

This low angle shot puts us in the perspective of Chiron’s mother talking to Juan, the man who was taking care of Chiron. This shows us the height difference between the two characters, creating a power dynamic between the person who was meant to look after Chiron versus the person who actually did take care of him.

Movements

Zoom In

This zoom in to the “Little” segments Kev and Chiron gives the audience the feeling that we are getting closer to the characters emotionally. This zoom in happens during a scene where Kev is telling Chiron that he can’t let people push him around and he needs to stand up for himself. The zoom in shows us that these characters are getting closer together, and gives the audience a sense that they are prying on a private conversation between to very close friends.

Pan

This scene where “Little” Chiron is running down towards the waves and then running away when the waves come up utilises a pan to follow Chiron as he runs. It puts us in the shoes of Juan, who is teaching Chiron to swim, and invokes a parental feeling of keeping eyes on the young child, looking after him, making sure he is safe and okay. It shows us Chiron’s relationship with Juan.

Ped

The cooking scene from the “Black” segment utilises peds to follow the movement of Kev’s hands while he is cooking, showing the effort and care that goes into the making of the meal for Chiron.

MOONLIGHT (2016, Dir. Barry Jenkins) FIRST RESPONSE

Rating: 6/10

The film does a good job at conveying a heartfelt story, using a three act structure to separate the stages of life the main character Chiron is in. It gets some good use out of the camera, making beautiful shots (any scene at a beach comes to mind) and the occasional shake of the camera really grounds the film, making it look like it was recorded by an onlooker using a handheld camera. However, sometimes the unique camera movements became annoying and sometimes I couldn’t make out what the characters were saying. It also just isn’t the kind of movie I love, but it executes what it set out to do extremely well.

Memorable Scene: Kev’s Betrayal 

The scene begins with one of the coolest shots of the film: it starts on the bully character, Terrel, walking into the schoolyard pushing people out of the way as he comes towards the camera. Then, without changing shots, the camera follows Terrel as he circles the camera, which is the point of view of Chiron. This shot stood out to me immediately because it really puts you in Chiron’s situation. You watch as Terrel walks, acting aggressive to other students, pushing them out of the way to create a circle. What really works with this shot is that Terrel remains in focus in the centre of the camera while the background is blurry and clearly moves. This creates a sense of tension and unease. This spinning shot continues for around ten seconds before Terrel, and thus the camera, stops at Kev. Terrel orders him to knock Chiron down, and Chiron stays silent and stares at Kev. Before this scene was the scene where Kev and Chiron shared an intimate moment on the beach. Both characters were vulnerable then, but here it’s different. Chiron is meant to be vulnerable: he is face to face with Terel and his gang, as well as Kev about to punch him. He is outmatched. And yet, Kev looks nervous and frightened while Chiron retains composure as he stares down the group. Chiron is knocked down by Kev, but then stands back up. Kev is ordered to knock him down again, and he does. But Chiron gets back up. This is important as it shows that Chiron, despite being bullied and seen as “weak” by his peers due to his physique and the fact that he is gay, is strong. As he said in the Knock Down scene from the “Little” segment, he isn’t soft. He has a strong will. Kev shouts at Chiron to stay down because he doesn’t want to hurt him, but Chiron gets back up. Chiron’s face is up close to the camera, and out of focus. This further creates a sense of unease, as the shots of Chiron are filled with his blurry, stoic face. Kev knocks him down again, and the bully group savagely attack him while Kev backs away. There is no natural sound at this scene’s end, no talking or chatter or anything. The only thing you can hear is a haunting score as Kev looks on while his best friend and love interest is beaten down and is alone.