Moonlight (2016)

A chronicle of the childhood, adolescence and burgeoning adulthood of a young, African-American, gay man growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami.

Director:

Barry Jenkins

Writers:

Barry Jenkins (screenplay by), Tarell Alvin McCraney (story by)

Stars:

Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Trevante Rhodes

Won 3 Oscars. Another 223 wins & 278 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mahershala Ali	...	Juan
Shariff Earp	...	Terrence
Duan Sanderson	...	Azu (as Duan 'Sandy' Sanderson)
Alex R. Hibbert	...	Little (as Alex Hibbert)
Janelle Monáe	...	Teresa
Naomie Harris	...	Paula
Jaden Piner	...	Kevin age 9
Herman 'Caheei McGloun	...	Longshoreman (as Herman 'Caheej' McGloun)
Kamal Ani-Bellow	...	Portable Boy 1
Keomi Givens	...	Portable Boy 2
Eddie Blanchard	...	Portable Boy 3
Rudi Goblen	...	Gee (as Rudi Goblin)
Ashton Sanders	...	Chiron
Edson Jean	...	Mr. Pierce
Patrick Decile	...	Terrel

Storyline

Three time periods - young adolescence, mid-teen and young adult - in the life of black-American Chiron is presented. When a child, Chiron lives with his single, crack addict mother Paula in a crime ridden neighborhood in Miami. Chiron is a shy, withdrawn child largely due to his small size and being neglected by his mother, who is more concerned about getting her fixes and satisfying her carnal needs than taking care of him. Because of these issues, Chiron is bullied, the slurs hurled at him which he doesn't understand beyond knowing that they are meant to be hurtful. Besides his same aged Cuban-American friend Kevin, Chiron is given what little guidance he has in life from a neighborhood drug dealer named Juan, who can see that he is neglected, and Juan's caring girlfriend Teresa, whose home acts as a sanctuary away from the bullies and away from Paula's abuse. With this childhood as a foundation, Chiron may have a predetermined path in life, one that will only be magnified in terms...

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Plot Keywords:

gay lead character | gay african american | african american | internalized homophobia | homophobia | 

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Taglines:

This is the story of a lifetime.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexuality, drug use, brief violence, and language throughout

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 November 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Moonlight

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$402,075, 23 October 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$27,850,912, 28 April 2017

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$55,561,162, 20 March 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

A24, PASTEL, Plan B Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39:1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, the accounting firm responsible for tabulating the results, preparing awards envelopes and handing them to presenters apologized unreservedly to the makers of La La Land (2016) and Moonlight, as well as everyone involved, after an envelope mix-up caused the former to be incorrectly announced as Best Picture: "We sincerely apologize to Moonlight, La La Land, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for the error that was made during the award announcement for Best Picture. The presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope and when discovered, was immediately corrected. [sic] We are currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred. We appreciate the grace with which the nominees, the Academy, ABC, and Jimmy Kimmel handled the situation."

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Goofs

Just before Kevin and Little wrestle in the grass, Kevin's gold chain goes from under his shirt, to over, to under again.

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Quotes

Kevin: Hey, these grandma rules, man. You know the deal. Your ass eat, your ass speak.

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Breakfast: Episode dated 24 January 2017 (2017)

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Soundtracks

Interlude
(uncredited)
Written by Nicholas Britell
Performed by Nicholas Britell

User Reviews

Hello Stranger My Old Friend

A singular and personal vision. An expression of a feeling, a mood, a time and place that together form empathy, understanding, and art. It's a film of moments, moments weighted with the unseen and the deeply felt with the help of three different superb actors at different times, having to convey all that's changed and unchanged without any exposition.

The soundtrack is gorgeous, capturing the sublime and the superficial, the life and the atmosphere of the piece.

I want to nitpick the ending but it's not yet time for that. Maybe I just wanted more, but that doesn't necessarily mean the film is at fault. I would simply ask, "What's the message here, if any? It gets better...eventually and kinda randomly?"