Moonlight: Blu-ray Review

07 March 2017 Last Updated on 07 March 2017 Written by David Cantu 0 Comments

The Movie:

A timeless story of human connection and self-discovery, Moonlight chronicles the life of a young black man from childhood to adulthood as he struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami. Anchored by extraordinary performances from a tremendous ensemble cast, Moonlight is profoundly moving portrayal of the moments, people, and unknowable forces that shape our lives and make us who we are.

This film is not the typical kind of drama that you would expect seeing. One that doesn’t have a particular story to it but instead is providing us with a journey. It reminds me a lot of Boyhood in certain aspects except there are various actors playing the main character throughout the years. The film is separated into three chapters and these three chapters signify particular and poignant moments within the life of the young man named Chiron. It truly is heartbreaking at times with Chiron not knowing who he is exactly and questioning everything including his sexuality. On top of that he experiences the everyday struggle of just trying to survive in a rough neighborhood which is tough in itself. The acting in the film is spot on and each actor gave performances that exuded so much emotion and turmoil. With three different actors playing the same role I was also impressed at how each one felt like they were all the same actor much like how Boyhood was. This film is easily one of the most important films in a long time and while there will be people that may not agree the fact is that there are many people just like Chiron struggling to find themselves and it sucks to know that it’s that complicated and difficult for them. It’s this movie that will definitely strike a chord with that audience and this movie handles it the best way that it could. My only complaint about the film was that I felt like it ended too soon. There was still more story that could’ve been explored and I really wish we could’ve seen more about Chiron’s adult life. Other than that I thought this was a fantastic film that everybody needs to watch at some point. 9/10

Special Features:

Ensemble of Emotion: Making Moonlight – A pretty standard Behind The Scenes feature with some good insightful interviews.

Poetry through Collaboration: The Music of Moonlight – This feature focuses on Nicholas Britell and what he brings to the sounds of the film.

Cruel Beauty: Filming in Miami – Barry Jenkins talks about using Miami as a backdrop for the film.

Audio Commentary with Director Barry Jenkins