Critical score: 7/10 I found the film had a good concept as we watched Chiro through three stages of his life (child, teenager and then an adult) I feel this was mostly executed well apart from the jump between being a teenager and adult as Chiro became unrecognizable which became confusing. Similarly, the plot was also harder to follow but I still enjoyed this film more compared to Joker as I think there was a better emotional connection to the characters and many people relate to Chiro compared to Arther.
Stand out scene:
I picked this scene of Chiro waking up from a nightmare about the traumas of his childhood. This scene is significant as it is the first scene of the movie portraying Chiro as an adult and being unrecognizable to his teenage self. Additionally, I think this scene portrays a powerful message that despite being grown up and the person his younger self would’ve wanted him to be he is still haunted by his experiences through childhood.
I rated this movie a 6/10, but I still enjoyed it. The cinematography really stood out to me. One memorable moment was when Chiron runs across the grass—the camera mimics the frantic movements of a child, which I think adds a personal touch to the movie, helping the viewer understand the child’s perspective better. Another technique that caught my attention was the lighting, particularly in the scene where Chiron’s mother stands under a pinkish light. It really highlights the power she has over him and the impact she has on his life. The social issues the movie touches on are incredibly powerful and add depth to the characters, delivering a meaningful message that really speaks to people. While I don’t want to take away from the importance of that message, there were times when I felt overwhelmed by the fast-paced nature of the story. However, it was still a deeply impactful film.
This scene was the most memorable for me. The way the waves moved felt like they were reflecting the bond between them, highlighting how special the moment was. The waves washing over the camera was also an interesting touch.
Thoughts: In comparison to Joker, Moonlight delivers on all aspects that dragged it down in my initial ranking. Moonlight does a fantastic job of using sound design to drive its story, by having the child and teen parts of the story mostly tonally isolated, illustrating how alone and empty Chiron feels in his adolescence. In his adulthood, sound features a lot more prominently, and his environment feels more lively and cluttered compared to his past, showing how he’s moved on from the struggles of his childhood and he’s gained control of his own narrative. Moonlight does a much better job than Joker in dialogue, as where I found some of the dialogue in Joker to feel artificial and stressful, Moonlight’s dialogue flowed beautifully and enveloped me in the setting of each and every part of Chiron’s story. My biggest gripe with Joker was how it was paced, having a clunky first half and a rushed ending, and Moonlight greatly improved on my pacing issue, spending just enough time on each shot and segment of Chiron’s life. Each shot felt impactful and important to the story because it did not feel as if the scenes were dragging on or even rehashing the thoughts and feelings Chiron had already displayed. Heavy themes were displayed across the entire film, themes of substance abuse, homophobia, peer pressure, and the struggle of being black in America. I think the film masterfully navigates these themes and tackles them tastefully whilst also giving an insightful view into each issue, culminating in a fantastic piece of film that will forever be used as an example of some of the best political storytelling to come out of the 21st century.
Favourite scene: What’s a faggot?
As someone who is LGBTQIA+, This scene resonated deeply with me, as it encapsulates the scared and depressing thoughts that go through the head of a young child having to deal with homophobic attack. This scene really impacted me because of the sudden nature of the conversation, and coupled with the movie’s pre-established use of silence and pauses, really shocks audiences. “Faggot” is such a strongly taboo’d word, and it’s use to break the silence shot right through me when first watching, and it fully engaged me with what Chiron was trying to navigate at that time. Mahershala Ali and Janelle Monae do a fantastic job of playing these authority figures in Chiron’s life, and their performances in this scene act as my highlight of the movie. The nuanced expressions that Juan displays when trying to formulate answers to Chiron’s questions do an amazing job of portraying the relationship between a parent and a child dealing with homophobia.
Thoughts: I really enjoyed the pacing of the film, how it was split up into three time periods: Child, teenager, and adult. The usage of colour grading and camera work paid off largely, making the storyline enticing for the audience, making us want to keep on watching as it told an important story of real-life issues such as racism, homophobia, and drug usage. One issue I had was that the child and teen casting were perfect, but the adult casting of Chiron felt out of place.
Memorable scene: I chose this scene because it managed to convey the harsh reality of living with a parent who’s an addict, the disdain shared between Chiron and his mother; I’d also like to note that there was no dialogue at all, just silence and music to cover up the noise when his mother yells at him just after.
I have given Moonlight a 7/10 because sometimes I was lost in the film as I did not think it was clear to what had happened.
I did like the overall movie because it had a good story and the scenes I found beautiful. I also like the message the film was trying to get across to the audience of how hard it may be for a quiet gay kid living in a rough part of the city. It also shows the problems wit abuse and drugs in family’s. This links to the photo at the top of the screen as in the photo his mum had been shouting at her son and was on drugs. Later on in the movie you can see the effect on drugs for the mum.
This film had some amazing things in it, such as the amazing performances by all three actors to make it feel like the same character throughout the film. I also liked how the film portrayed what its like to grow up in a ‘rough’ neighbourhood, as well as its commentary on several different social issues and themes, such as drug dealing and discrimination towards homosexuals in African American neighbourhoods. Furthermore, the way they built relationships, and the verisimilitude of the film was very good. In addition, the director’s use of framing was very good and addedto the realism of the film. For example, the scene in the first act when he’s in the sea with Mahershala Ali’s character makes you feel like you’re in the sea with them and experiencing this intimate with them, which is very immersive. However, I did feel as if some parts of the first act were unnecessary and didn’t really add to the world building or message of the film, and there was a slight disconnect between the second and third act.
Memorable Scene
The most memorable scene/shot for me is when he is walking through the hallway of his school and is about to smash a chair over his bullies’ head. The long tracking shot that the director uses really conveys the anger that this young adult has after being beaten up by someone he thought was his lover.
I rated this movie a 7/10 because I like how the story came from the same person however from 3 different times in his life for example when he was a child , teenager and from when he was in adulthood. However , when it changed from teenager to adulthood I got a bit lost as there wasn’t much that showed the viewer that it changed from teenager time to adulthood.
My favourite scene was when Chiron found comfort in Juan and Teresa. Juan and Teresa felt more like they where his real parents than his actual one has they cared for Chiron more. It made me feel that Juan and Teresa had a parental and kind side to them.
Overall rating 7/10 I gave it an overall of a seven because I felt like this movie is more relatable for a teenage audience and I felt like I had some things in common with the main character of chiro. This is very different in comparison to the joker where I had very little to no form of relation to him and his story. I also felt like the movie moonlight was paced well to let the audience have time to connect with each stage of chiro’s life, however the movie did start to get confusing when the main character chiro turns into an adult and is hardly recognizable.
Memorable scene I believed the most memorable scene was the scene when Kevin was punching Chiro and Chiro kept getting back up. I thought this was memorable because it showed how Chiro was reaching his breaking point and how he wasn’t going to stand down to the bullying like he did before. It also showed the pain he was feeling emotionally, physically.
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.
Create a score (10), a general impression of how you felt/thought after the film and then a screen shot of a memorable moment with a JUSTIFICATION of why you chose this.
