Directed by Barry Jenkins, Moonlight is a three-part narrative spanning the childhood, adolescence, and adulthood of an African-American man who survives Miami's drug-plagued inner city, finding love in unexpected places and the possibility of change within himself.The PlayList/Gregory Ellwood: Like “Brokeback Mountain” a decade ago, “Moonlight” is a piece of art that will transform lives long after it leaves theaters. Those who will be changed by the picture may not see it on the big screen. They may even have to see it in secret. But when they do. Whey they watch Chiron have that first kiss, when he can be himself for just an instance in a world that oppresses him? It will be everything. [A]
Variety/Peter Debruge: “Black” isn’t just a race, community, or color, but one of three names by which a sexually conflicted young South Florida man allows himself to be called in a film that’s ultimately about taking control of one’s own identity. That’s exactly what Jenkins himself is doing by delivering a film so firmly committed to capturing the black experience, resulting in a socially conscious work of art as essential as it is insightful. A natural extension of his garrulous San Francisco-set debut, “Medicine for Melancholy,” the director’s beautifully nuanced, subtext-rich second feature is no less intellectually engaged, but proves far more trusting in audiences’ ability to read between the lines.
Hollywood Reporter/David Rooney: The Bottom Line: Glows likes its title... It would be tempting to call Moonlight an instant landmark in queer black cinema, if that didn't imply that the experience it portrays will speak only to a minority audience. Instead, this is a film that will strike plangent chords for anyone who has ever struggled with identity, or to find connections in a lonely world. It announces Jenkins as an important new voice. [Note: Review is incredibly spoiler heavy]
The Wrap/Sam Fragoso: “Moonlight” is not a public service announcement or a cry for help. It doesn’t fetishize Chiron’s pain, as so many pieces of contemporary American cinema do. It’s a humanist film; it’s about people, and it’s got a pulse. It presents characters as idiosyncratic, domineering, but mostly fearful — timid creatures ambling through life in the hopes of finding refuge.
Screen Daily/Tim Grierson: An indelible portrait of an imperilled life, Moonlight is quietly devastating in its depiction of masculinity, race, poverty and identity. Writer-director Barry Jenkins builds on the promise of his intimate 2008 romantic drama Medicine For Melancholy to examine a young African-American in danger of being dragged down by the destructive forces around him — and how, by embracing his true self, he may discover contentment. Ambitious in scope but precise in its execution, this deceptively small-scale character piece reverberates with compassion and insight.
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