One teenager’s hunt for answers in his sexual awakening forces him to examine the past, present and future in Barry Jenkins’s “Moonlight”. Written and directed by Jenkins, This three-part narrative drama charts the life of a black gay youth named Chiron as he grows up in a rough neighborhood in Miami. In the first segment, Chiron is a ten-year-old nicknamed “Little” (Alex Hibbert) who is taken in by a kindhearted Cuban drug dealer (Mahershala Ali) and his girlfriend (Janelle Monáe). In the middle installment, a teenage Chiron (Ashton Sanders) explores his sexuality as he falls in love with a close friend. The final chapter follows Chiron in his twenties (Trevante Rhodes) as he reconnects with faces from his past, leading him to remember the kinds of events that were put into place to make him the man he is today. “Moonlight” is rated R for some sexuality, drug use, brief violence, and adult language throughout.

“Moonlight” and director Barry Jenkins should be applauded if only for crafting a carefully constructed and beautifully paced stinger that speaks to the minority in today’s youth, and the fear in changes that they all go through. This is simply one of those films that every adolescent growing up should be forced to watch, in its dealing with homosexuality, abandonment, and the cause and effects from the lack of having a positive parental influence in those lives. Jenkins offers many suffocating, yet educational views into the very homes and lives of a single-parent, black, gay little boy who seeks the answers to his questions when everyone around him does anything but. Many influences and events lead us to the finished product that we will someday become as adult members of society, and Barry breaks that concept down during three equally important time periods in this boy’s life. There wasn’t a single frame of this movie that didn’t speak to someone who already experienced these kind of things twenty years prior, and for that value in social commentary, “Moonlight” is can’t miss cinema for everyone.

For the style in cinematography and lighting for the film’s design, Jenkins chose a low resolution effect that provides an equal accomplishment of independent style, as well as gritty surrealism that perfectly translates the kind of dangerous environments that a child is asked to grow up in. The framing is exceptional, in that it always tries to not only capture the character in focus, but that of the environment surrounding that person that plays into all of the tension and goosebumps that the movie builds itself on. Simply put, Jenkins is a more-than capable director who knows where to point the camera for the most impact in every shot. The revolving camera work that Jenkins weaves his way in and out of is captivating. In particular, the opening shot of this movie between two characters who go on a long-winded dialogue discussion intercepts its way through every angle and point of view between them, offering a preview into the visual feast that you are about to take part in. I also think the idea of personal POV shots is a thoughtful one here. Every time a conflict takes place on screen, the audience are in the faces of every character involved. This has always given the movies that they accompany a breaking of the fourth wall, involving the audience very much front-and-center for what goes down. We’ve all been where the movie takes us, but the personal establishing shots serve as more than just another spin down familiar territory.

The three act story of the different eras in Chiron’s life is something that had its positives and negatives for the effect on the story. Over the course of 105 minutes, the movie hints to us that no matter how much you change, the real you is always inside screaming to come out. Jenkins offers a respectable dissection on the very events that fueled the fire for Chiron’s uncertainty. The sexual nature in the things kids do in their daily routine is there, but it’s never presented in an obscene or overdone style of storytelling. I also love that the details don’t beat the audience over the head with what they’re trying to tell every time a new act switches the story up. I found myself more than capable of keeping up with this story without anything feeling forced or hinted at, a testament to solid structuring. Where my problems began to sneak up on me was how constricted everything feels by this brief run time. Each act of the story is given 35 minutes, which doesn’t feel anywhere near long enough to fully engage in each changing world for Chiron. A good story does always leave you wanting more, but a better one can do this while offering more than JUST the table dressing of Chiron’s sexuality. Certain things are skimmed over without the reflection they are owed, and I frankly could’ve used another half hour in the movie to tie everything together. The ending in particular is a reflection of the problems I discuss. The third act builds up a confrontation between two characters that just kind of fizzles out before the credits hit. It almost felt like the wrong time to end the movie for me, and that unfortunately sent me home on a down note.

One thing that does lift this movie above and beyond however, is the performances. Even for a mostly child dominated picture, the film never loses emotional range among its cast, and there are a few actors here that are very notable. Naomie Harris has earned her first Oscar nomination. You’ve heard it here first. As Paula, Chiron’s Mother, Harris depicts a drug-addicted prostitute who initially is the only person her son as for answers. There was never a moment when I wasn’t drawn to the screen when Harris appears, and the kind of anger and regret that she conjures up in her performance yielded great empathy from me in someone who I would normally write off as a lost cause. I also greatly enjoyed Mahershala Ali as a drug dealer who Chiron befriends and serves as the father figure of sorts for the curious boy. Ali and Hibbert’s relationship early on in the movie is the emotional centerpiece for what feels wholesome and important for a boy and his role model. So much so that this plays a pivotal role later on in the movie for the kind of person Chiron grows up to be. Ali sadly isn’t in the movie for long, but his impact is felt throughout for the kind of molding he gave to this boy. The love between them without being blood is purely beautiful. All three actors who played Chiron also controlled the screen, wonderfully syncing the ideals and personality traits that this character always had. I never at all found it hard to believe these three different actors were depicting the same character, and each one of them serve as a ticking time-bomb to the volcano of emotions that is brewing inside of our young protagonist. Sanders is probably my favorite for his enveloped rage, but Hibbert is a pleasure to watch for the many things that he can say in a look.

Barry Jenkins reputation for filmmaking is about to get sweeter. In his latest dissection of the teenage world of curious sexuality, Barry offers a compassionate and respectable table of contents for the kinds of environmental atmospheres that play into the screaming voice inside that is impatiently waiting to get out. This anguished, stylish and brash coming-of-age melodrama is a provocative look inside the LGBTQ community, and it’s one that A24 studios scores on again.

8/10