Kevin cradles Chiron, much like Juan did when he first held Chiron’s head in the water and told him to relax, much like a younger Kevin did when he first touched Chiron at the beach. Kevin puts him off, acting natural, but the notion of nicknames and how they inform one's identity is a theme that will persist throughout the film. Copyright © 1999 - 2021 GradeSaver LLC. As a result, the three chapters of the film were designed to imitate different film stocks. [27] Harris later commented that although she had previously vowed not to portray a crack addict, the film's script and director's tolerance appealed to her. Make sure, include the ending of the film, and focus on any narrative, thematic and stylistic elements. As young kids, Kevin hides his sexuality in order to avoid being singled out like Chiron is. The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2016. At the start of this chapter, Chiron has grown into a teenager. In 2003, Tarell Alvin McCraney wrote the semi-autobiographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue to cope with his mother's death from AIDS. Top 10 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – Stephen Whitty, This page was last edited on 24 May 2021, at 16:54. Moonlight is a coming-of-age film that erases all the cliches of its initial setup, its premise paving the way for an emotionally resonant story told across three time periods. Main Menu. The triptych structure helps to reiterate the fragmented personality to the film and Chiron. [74] On March 7, 2017, Beijing-based streaming video service iQiyi announced that it has acquired the rights to stream the film in China. [14], After the release of his debut feature film Medicine for Melancholy in 2008, Barry Jenkins wrote various screenplays, none of which entered production. Chiron looks as if he means to pursue them but thinks better of it. When best films of the 2010s lists started circulating at the end of last year, 2016’s Moonlight was a popular pick. Sorry, we can't write you an essay on this short answer space. 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[41], The film was edited in Los Angeles[37] by Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders, former university schoolmates of Jenkins. Chiron (now portrayed by Ashton Sanders) approaches Terrel, a bully who had ordered Chiron’s friend Kevin to beat Chiron up, and smashes a chair … The first chapter emulated the Fuji film stock to intensify the cast's skin tones. As he puts a blanket over her, she wakes up and says, "You don't love me no more...You're my only, and I'm your only.". [81][82], David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote a positive review after Moonlight premiered at the 2016 Telluride Film Festival. He opens his eyes, and Juan looks back at him. The ocean is like a crosscurrent as Tinsley says, that can simultaneously be a place of inequality and exploitation as well as beauty and resistance. [24][25] Trevante Rhodes originally auditioned for the role of Kevin, before he was cast as adult Chiron. [39] The film was shot in a period of twenty-five days. Chiron wakes up, finding it was only a dream. The character Juan was based on the father of McCraney's half-brother, who was also a childhood "defender" of McCraney, as Juan was for Chiron. He badgers Chiron further about his jeans being tighter then leaves, calling Chiron "Little." [97] The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, with additional nominations for five more: Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (for Ali), Best Supporting Actress (for Harris), Best Screenplay (for Jenkins) and Best Original Score (for Britell). [21] Likewise, Paula was a depiction of Jenkins' and McCraney's mothers, who both struggled with drug addictions. She asks how Teresa is, saying she hasn't seen her since Juan's funeral, and calls Teresa Chiron's "play play mommy." Chiron's childhood friend Kevin tells him about a detention he received for being caught having sex with a girl in a school stairwell, and Chiron later dreams about Kevin and the girl having sex in Teresa's back yard, waking with a start. Of course, Terrel chooses Chiron. No place you can go in the world ain't got no black people. [55], Moonlight explores the effects of this felt powerlessness in black males. His mother lunges—then she isn’t his mother, she’s Kevin, and he reels from the crack of his fist across his face. [73], On February 27, 2017, the day after the Academy Awards, Calvin Klein released an underwear advertising campaign featuring four of the male actors in the film. He says one unfortunate side effect of leaning into masculinity too much is that men no longer want to be "caressed, or nurtured, or gentle," which is why a character like Juan may be puzzling to some audiences.[54]. Each movement depicts Chiron’s body opening itself more to Kevin’s: from sitting down hunched over at the beach, during the jerk-off, to Chiron’s more open posture as he sits in the car and as he leaves the car, smiling, to Chiron standing, fully open to Kevin’s punches. Moonlight (Film) study guide contains a biography of Barry Jenkins, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. While visiting Paula, Chiron breaks his silence. [99], Moonlight received eight nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, the second highest of all nominees, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (for Ali), Best Supporting Actress (for Harris) and Best Adapted Screenplay. Barry Jenkins’ 2016 drama “Moonlight,” that year’s winner of the Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Awards, is, at its core, a story about masculinity told over the course of decades. The film amalgamates art film with hood film in its portrayal of African-American characters on-screen. In the film, Chiron is placed in this divide as a black gay man and alters his presentation of masculinity as a strategy to avoid ridicule because homosexuality is viewed as incompatible with black masculine expectations. … We learn that Kevin has begun referring to Chiron as "Black," which Chiron confronts him about on the beach. As Chiron grows older, he recognizes the need to conform to a heteronormative ideal of black masculinity in order to avoid abuse and homophobia. Coincidentally, Kevin and this bully named Terrel talk in the lunch room of their high school and they talk about this hazing ritual where they punch a random person. As Chiron hesitates, Kevin approaches, apparently still one of Chiron's close friends. Edition. Chiron then asks Juan whether he sells drugs and whether his mother does drugs and leaves after Juan sadly answers yes to both questions. [71], The film's poster reflects its triptych structure, combining the three actors portraying Chiron into a single face. Hidden Meanings Behind the Movie, "Moonlight" (Spoilers) Reviewed by Joy Ramos Davis Synopsis: A coming-of-age drama set in Miami Florida, the movie follows the three stages of Chiron's troubled life, from childhood to his young adult years. Thus, this scene underlines some of the film's overarching themes of masculinity and performance, as well as those of childhood games and their equivalent in the adult male world. [14], Jenkins worked with cinematographer and longtime friend James Laxton, who previously shot Medicine for Melancholy. In his high school science class, a bully named Terrel makes fun of Chiron for being effeminate and is kicked out of class. Chiron was getting bullied, and Juan detected him hiding in a room. We was the first on this planet." Of course, Kevin and Chiron also play at performed toughness or masculinity on the beach when Kevin pretends he doesn't cry, whereas Chiron admits he does. Kevin explains that he got detention for having sex with a girl in the hallway at school. [98], Moonlight received four nominations at the 70th British Academy Film Awards: Best Film, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Best Original Screenplay. Moonlight has been cited as one of the best films of the 21st century. GradeSaver, Read the Study Guide for Moonlight (Film)…, Black Identity: The Struggle between Virility and Vulnerability, Color, Lighting, and Powerful Motifs: The Evocative Visual Design in Moonlight, View Wikipedia Entries for Moonlight (Film)…. The two exchange deadly eye contact. Chiron is arrested and put into a police car outside school, and Kevin comes out to watch. rmhealey.org; About me; Liturgy; Films Menu Toggle. He tells Chiron there is nothing wrong with being gay and that he should not allow others to mock him. The chapters of Moonlight add up to a magnificent and timeless whole: a complex ... Tragedy strikes again, though: Terrel organizes a hazing ritual where Kevin has to punch anyone of Terrel’s choosing until the mark stays down. I point it out because it would be a disservice to our hard working crew if that were the budget of the film. This fight changes both Kevin and Chiron, as a result of this fight, Chiron regresses and once again begins to question his sexuality. He tries to change the sheets on his bed there, and Teresa teases him, teaching him how to make a bed properly. If we started again, would things be different? Britell applied the chopped and screwed technique from hip hop remixes to orchestral music, producing a "fluid, bass-heavy score". The screen cuts to six-year-old Chiron standing at the beach looking blue the way Juan told him Black boys do. What Becomes Of Chiron After 'Moonlight' Ends, According To The Film's Cast. In the principal's office, Chiron is urged to press charges and give the school the names of the boys who beat him up. Moonlight’s Chiron shares his name with the immortal centaur from Greek mythology, the son of the titan Cronus and a half-brother to Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, among others. As an adult, Chiron chooses to embrace the stereotypical black male gender performance by becoming muscular and a drug-dealer. [94], Moonlight was listed on numerous critics' top ten lists for 2016. [16] In preparation for her role, Harris watched interviews of those with addiction to crack cocaine, and met with addicted women. He invites Chiron to town, promising he'll cook him dinner and play the song. Which sentence from the story “Embers of Moonlight” best explains why the narrator has never before watched the end of the Night of Rebirth? Chiron apologizes, and Kevin asks what he has to be sorry for. [26], André Holland had previously acted in McCraney's plays, and had read In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue a decade before the release of the film. "[79] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 99 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". They laugh, and Kevin says he didn't know Chiron smoked. One night on the beach, Chiron and Kevin kiss and become intimate, but the next day, Kevin repeatedly punches Chiron in the face, afraid that he will be harmed himself if he does not comply with the bullies’ demands. Chiron travels to Miami and visits Kevin at his workplace, a diner. Moonlight managed to subvert my non-specific expectations by creating a narrative centered around the growth of a Black gay man named Chiron … discuss how the absence from the plot of various significant parts of Chiron’s story has a major impact on the character development in Moonlight. One night, Juan encounters Paula smoking crack with one of his customers. Please provide all information in your posts. On his way to Teresa's house after school that day, Chiron intersects with Terrel and his fellow bullies. "[96], At the 74th Golden Globe Awards, Moonlight received six nominations, the second highest of all film nominees. Kevin pushes him on this, putting his hand on Chiron's back. Kevin tells Chiron that, although his life didn't turn out as he had hoped, he is happy, resulting in Chiron breaking down and admitting that he has not been intimate with anybody since their encounter years ago. https://fullcirclecinema.com/2020/06/03/full-circle-pride-moonlight-review [76], Moonlight grossed $27.9 million in the United States and Canada and $37.5 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $65.3 million, against a production budget of $4 million. Whereas Kevin was once interested in Chiron performing strength for their peers, Kevin is now the one performing for the bullies; he beats up Chiron against his will and is ultimately weaker than his friend, since Chiron chooses to rise to his feet after each blow. She related her experiences of bullying to the addicts' attempts of escaping trauma. Liberty Square, a housing project located in the neighborhood of Liberty City, was chosen as one of the primary locations as both McCraney and Jenkins grew up in the area. [107], The film is referenced in "Moonlight", a song from Jay-Z's studio album 4:44. An adult Chiron deals drugs in Atlanta. Chiron apologizes, and Kevin asks what he has to be sorry for. [49] However, A. O. Scott of The New York Times cites the character Juan as an example of how the film "evokes clichés of African-American masculinity in order to shatter them. Does it mean that Juan was once a Chiron ... Not quite that perhaps, but the last shot of the film is of the young Chiron sitting on the beach ... looking out at the ocean ... His wide eyes suggest all the desolation and promise that Juan saw in him at the beginning. The film keeps showing us Chiron's handsome, inscrutable face. [18] In fact, it is not made clear that the characters are the same person until halfway through the play. The soundtrack, released on October 21, 2016, consists of eighteen original cues by Britell along with others by Goodie Mob, Boris Gardiner, and Barbara Lewis. [89], Camilla Long of The Times wrote that the film's "story has been told countless times, against countless backdrops", and that the film is not "relevant" to a predominantly "straight, white, middle class" audience. What lies behind the names and identities of Chiron in Moonlight. In Liberty City, Miami at the height of the crack epidemic, Afro-Cuban drug dealer Juan finds Chiron, a withdrawn child who goes by the nickname "Little," hiding from a group of bullies in a crackhouse. Chiron admits he's smoked all kinds of things his mother leaves around the house. It says everything".[88]. Terrel manipulates Kevin into a hazing ritual where Kevin has to punch Chiron until the latter can't stand. https://geeksofcolor.co/.../we-need-to-stop-vilifying-kevin-from-moonlight So Far", "Oscar mistake overshadows historic moment for 'Moonlight, "Don't let that Oscars blunder overshadow Moonlight's monumental achievement", "Don't Let the Best Picture Debacle Overshadow Moonlight's Great Win", "Joi McMillon, the first African American woman to be nominated for best editing", "Mahershala Ali becomes first Muslim actor to win an Oscar", "Miami plays a starring role in the glorious 'Moonlight, "Barry Jenkins' Moonlight Interview: Journey To Making a Classic", "To give birth to 'Moonlight,' writer-director Barry Jenkins dug deep into his past", "Tarell Alvin McCraney: The man who lived 'Moonlight, "Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney Discusses the Piece That Inspired 'Moonlight, "Barry Jenkins Slow-Cooks His Masterpiece", "From Bittersweet Childhoods to 'Moonlight, "A24 Teams With Plan B & Adele Romanski To Produce And Finance Barry Jenkins' 'Moonlight, "The 3 stars of 'Moonlight' share a role and a breakthrough", "Naomie Harris, Andre Holland, Mahershala Ali to Star in 'Moonlight, "Barry Jenkins' 'Moonlight' Draws Naomie Harris, Andre Holland, Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monae + Others", "Trevante Rhodes Shines in 'Moonlight,' This Fall's Essential Queer Black Film", "Why André Holland Knew He Couldn't Turn Down a Movie Like 'Moonlight, "Naomie Harris Had to Overcome Her Own Judgment to Play 'Moonlight' Role", "How Naomie Harris Filmed Her Stunning Moonlight Role in Just 3 Days", "With 'Moonlight' and more, Mahershala Ali hits stratosphere", "Mahershala Ali?

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