Ah, there. A movie that's not like a salad you consume because it's good for you, but like braised Belgian endive, bitter & serious, with a little melty sweetness.
Moonlight––its title comes from the play, "In moonlight black boys look blue"–– is about a black boy growing up gay in crime ridden Miami. Its tenderness is as hard to take as its brutality.
Representation of black lives matters, but it's not a message movie like Hidden Figures; you would want it no matter its nutritional content. As a film, it reminded me of Force Majeur (2014), by Swedish director Ruben Östlund who, like Moonlight's director Barry Jenkins, uses the medium to tell a massive story delicately.
The film's music is part of its complexity:
From "Every Nigger Is a Star" (1974!) to a cello piece I thought was Bach, but is by the contemporary composer who scored the film, Nicholas Britell.
Interview about scoring the movie with composer Britell here.
Soundtrack here.
Moonlight––its title comes from the play, "In moonlight black boys look blue"–– is about a black boy growing up gay in crime ridden Miami. Its tenderness is as hard to take as its brutality.
Representation of black lives matters, but it's not a message movie like Hidden Figures; you would want it no matter its nutritional content. As a film, it reminded me of Force Majeur (2014), by Swedish director Ruben Östlund who, like Moonlight's director Barry Jenkins, uses the medium to tell a massive story delicately.
The film's music is part of its complexity:
From "Every Nigger Is a Star" (1974!) to a cello piece I thought was Bach, but is by the contemporary composer who scored the film, Nicholas Britell.
The main character Chiron (pronounced Shyrone) is played by three actors: the boy Alex R. Hibbert, teenager Ashton Sanders, and as a grown man, Trevante Rhodes. Also, above, Mahershala Ali as Juan teaching Chiron to swim, and Jharrel Jerome as teenage Kevin (white T-shirt).
Soundtrack here.
Moonlight trailer
What can we do to help this movie (and not La La Land) get the Best Picture award? Maybe spread the fake news that Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are holograms?
ReplyDeleteBut is that fake news?
ReplyDeleteThere should be no contest (but I wouldn't put my money on Moonlight).