2016--Moonlight, Barry Jenkins

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.