Moonlight movie review - Aussieboyreviews

IS MOONLIGHT AN INTENSE COMING-OF-AGE DRAMA FOR TEENS?

Moonlight is a mature, beautiful, intense and very sad coming-of-age drama that’s simply a character study. It’s basically all just about a young African-American man who’s trying to figure out his identity.

Storyline

A young African-American man struggles to figure out his identity and sexuality as he journeys through childhood, adolescence and adulthood in Miami.

Movie Images

Movie details

Director: Barry Jenkins
Cast: Trevante Rhodes, Mahershala Ali, André Holland, Naomie Harris, Janelle Monáe, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Alex R. Hibbert
Writer: Barry Jenkins
Release Date (Australia): 26 January 2017
Runtime: 111 minutes/1h 51m
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Language: English

CONTENT GUIDE (warning: May contain spoilers)

Themes (M)

The film includes themes of drug dealing and addiction, bullying and the character struggling to figure out his sexuality.

Violence (M)

The film depicts punches and beatings that are accompanied by bloody detail.

Coarse Language (M)

The film contains “s**t”, “n***a” and “f**k” language.

Drug Use (M)

The film includes depictions of people smoking crack and marijuana, as well as frequent verbal drug references.

Sex (M)

The film contains verbal sexual references and scenes depicting sex and masturbation.

mpaa rating

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

Aussie boy's thoughts

Moonlight won Academy Award for Best Picture, but it’s a beautiful and intense character study with powerful themes and attachable moments that’ll break your heart. It just goes to show how an indie film with a budget of under $2 million can end up racing its way to the Oscars. This movie depicts a man struggling with his identity as he goes through childhood, adolescence and lands in adulthood.

This movie provides its powerful and mature coming-of-age story within three chapters titled by the names the main character goes by in each of the sections of his life. The casting for the film is utterly precise; not only do the actors prove their clear talent in such humane roles, but the actors for the same characters each look quite similar. And the performances contribute to the pain and emotions this movie intends to deliver.

Having won Best Picture, the cinematography and camerawork throughout the film is equally as exceptional. There’s so many noticeable colours and everyone behind the camera does a great job. However, Moonlight is more of a movie for its heavy study of an African-American man figuring out his identity and sexuality. This kind of movie isn’t for everyone, but those who point it out as appealing will be impressed.

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