2016--Moonlight, Barry Jenkins
Nominated: Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, La La Land, Lion, Manchester By the Sea
Should have won: Lion
Be sure to see: The Boy, Deadpool, Girl on the Train, The Jungle Book, The Magnificent Seven, Swiss Army Man, The Witch
"You're not a faggot. You can be gay, but you don't have to let nobody call you a faggot."--Juan
The 2015 Oscars caught a lot of flack for not being
racially diverse. It ended up being the worst ceremony in history not
because of the nominees (all of whom were deserving) but because the
host, Chris Rock, made an ass of himself and a mockery of the Academy
Awards' history by making racial comments at every chance. A few were
expected in his monologue, but it happened all night. Because of
this, it was pretty much guaranteed the 2016 awards would be more
diverse. I don't feel that is a good thing just for the sake of
diversity if the nominees aren't deserving. Luckily, they were. The
best performances in my mind were both in Fences. One did win
for supporting actress and Denzel Washington was nominated for best
actor in what I feel is the his best performance of his career. But
the highlight of the evening was when presenter Faye Dunaway read the
wrong winner for best picture. She called the odds-on favorite La
La Land only to have the announcement corrected by La La
Land's producer himself. The actual winner was Moonlight.
The first two minutes of Moonlight was one
sweeping shot of Juan, a conflicted character who is a drug dealer,
though still a good man. Juan finds a wondering boy and takes him
home to his wife, Theresa for the night. The boy is Chirone, a quiet
outsider the other kids have given the moniker Little. He rarely
speaks but when he does he sounds to be about 15 though he looks 9 or
10.
Chirone is bullied at school and at home, though not
physically. His mother is a woman very easy to dislike. Clearly on
drugs and jealous of her son's relationship with Juan and Theresa,
she takes his money and verbally abuses him. However, I do believe
her when she says she loves him. She certainly isn't evil like
Precious's mother seven years ago (Mo'Nique in an Oscar winning
role). It is at this young and conflicted age Chirone realizes he is
gay.
I like movies with character arcs and Chirone has
one as he reaches high school and beyond. He comes into his sexuality
and has an encounter with his friend Kevin. He still gets bullied but
stands up for himself. It is one of those moments I cheer for a
character's actions but jeer at his consequences.
I feel the third phase of Chirone was miscast. The
actors who play young and old Kevin were perfect; Jharrel Jerome and
Andre Holland looked similar enough but Alex Hibbert (young Chirone)
and Ashton Sanders (adult Chirone) didn't look similar at all. The
older Cherone is muscular and strong while Little was...little.
People grow, they work out and gain muscle, I get that. But I need an
explanation because he became unrecognizable.
Juan tells Chirone that his grandmother always said
that in the moonlight black boys look blue. I found this interesting
not just in the literal sense but also because Chirone was such a sad
character; blue on the outside in the moonlight and on the inside
with melancholy. I don't know if that is what the filmmakers were
aiming for but that's what I took from it.
Moonlight is the second best picture winner in a row
I had never heard of before the nominees were announced. I was sure
La La Land or Fences would win. After seeing it I understand why it
won. It was good but I don't feel it was deserving of the award. But
how could liberal Hollywood pass up the chance to award the prize to
a movie about a gay black kid, especially after last year? I really
hope it doesn't come down to this in future years. The best movie
should win best picture; the best performances should win in their
categories. Not everything has to be about politics. It is a good
film and I recommend it. It is about life and circumstances not
usually depicted in the movies. It probably isn't easy to grow up gay
in the hood and I'm glad the story was told. I just have the feeling
decades from now it will be looked at as "that movie they
awarded because of the previous year" and that is very
unfortunate.
