Moonlight: Movie Review

There's no doubt that "Moonlight" presents a riveting and engaging story. It is an intimate and seemingly honest peek into a culture that has had its fair share of misconceptions and prejudices. But its fill-in-the-blanks approach with its story-telling felt stifling.

"Moonlight" chronicles the life of its protagonist, Chiron, in three key portions of his life; when he is a young boy (Alex Hibbert), as a teenager (Ashton Sanders), and as an adult (Trevante Rhodes). With a mother slowly succumbing to drug addiction, constantly bullied in school and, a growing curiosity in his own sexuality, how will Chiron face the challenges in his life?

With "Moonlight", there's no doubt that you will get into its main protagonist Chiron. The film was engaging from start to end with a full slate of reasons why. First, the acting was simply outstanding even with its complexity. The film had three different actors, in different sets of ages that portrayed the protagonist Chiron. Each performance had their own subtle differences but was tied up well with believable consistency. Second, the cinematography was unique and right smack dab in the middle of events. You feel that you are right beside Chiron as his life unfolds and unfurls. Third, its narrative was daring yet grounded. It was subtle yet this subtlety was the very same reason why the film was moving. Don't expect this to be a happy film. For the most part, it was sad. But this also adds credibility to its message. Life is never easy, we all know that, and "Moonlight" feels like real life, with real people, with real struggles. The only thing that really put us off was the way the story transitioned onto the next chapter of Chiron's life. It skips a lot of stuff literally and with how much we wanted to know Chiron more and more, this skipping was frustrating at best.

Rating: 3 and a half reels

Why you should watch it:
- outstanding acting from the three main leads
- the story was real, raw and emotional

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- the transitions from one chapter to the next may be a bit frustrating