Moonlight

I think this film might take me a bit of time to truly process what I watched, even though nothing about the film was too complex or anything. The filmmaking is obviously masterful, which is no surprise coming from Barry Jenkins. The cinematography, editing, score, all of them were complete standouts. Not only that but the way each character was performed was really amazing, Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris, even given the little screentime they have, make such an impact it’s truly astounding. The main showing of this movie though, came from its characters. Each and every one is so unique and has a lasting impact on Chiron, who is one of the most interesting and best written protagonists I’ve ever seen. No matter how far away he goes from his childhood and his trauma, whenever he goes back or something happens to him that makes him think of that time he reverts back to the way he was as a little kid, which after seeing him in basically three different points at his life, in which they could almost be counted as their own characters, is so masterful. But he goes back to being emotional, scared, and silent. Not only that but it is perfectly portrayed by the three performers who portray him. Alex Hubert does really great setting up the main mannerisms and face movement for his character, and Trevante Rhodes does amazing showing not only how he has grown, but also showing how little he truly has grown in the grand scheme of things. But my favorite of the three has to be Ashton Sanders, who perfectly portrays his transition from being the scared kid he’s shown at the beginning to the more outburstful and performative person he is at the end, it’s really amazing. Overall an amazing film that I’m sure I’ll only love more as I think about it more and more.