"A timeless story of human self-discovery and connection, Moonlight chronicles the life of a young black man from childhood to adulthood as he struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami." - (Alert)
Follows an African American man as he grows up in a rough Miami neighborhood and tries to find his place in the world. - (Baker & Taylor)
A timeless story of human connection and self-discovery, Moonlight chronicles the life of a young black man from childhood to adulthood as he struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami. At once a vital portrait of contemporary African American life and an intensely personal and poetic meditation on identity, family, friendship, and love, Moonlight is a groundbreaking piece of cinema that reverberates with deep compassion and universal truths. Anchored by extraordinary performances from a tremendous ensemble cast, Jenkins's staggering, singular vision is profoundly moving in its portrayal of the moments, people, and unknowable forces that shape our lives and make us who we are. - (Lions Gate)
Video Librarian Reviews
Writer-director Barry Jenkins has created an achingly affecting, incandescent coming-of-age story with three different actors playing the lead character. Growing up in a decrepit, inner-city housing project in Miami, scrawny, fatherless 10-year-old Chiron (Alex Hibbert) is dubbed "Little" by playmates, who suspect him of being homosexual. Hiding from schoolyard tormentors, Chiron is discovered by kindly, Cuban-born crack dealer, Juan (Mahershala Ali), who offers him dinner and shelter for the night at the apartment he shares with Teresa (Janelle Monáe). Juan drives Chiron home the next morning and realizes that the boy's mother (Naomi Harris) is a drug addict. "My momma does drugs?" Chiron asks, trying to comprehend. "And you sell drugs?" Compassionate Juan gradually becomes Chiron's father-surrogate, building trust by gently teaching the emotionally vulnerable boy how to swim. By the time he's 16, Chiron's (Ashton Sanders) awkward loneliness has become pervasive. One evening, his only friend, Kevin (Jharrel Jerome), initiates a brief sexual encounter on a beach, but persistent bullying also continues. A decade later in Atlanta, troubled Chiron (Trevante Rhodes) is beefed up with gold dental "fronts" but still grappling with an angst-riddled concept of masculinity. Perceptively adapting playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney's In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, this multiple Oscar-nominated film—including for Best Picture—is a powerful drama that shatters stereotypes of the LGBTQ community. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (S. Granger) Copyright Video Librarian Reviews 2017.