Moonlight

[D-Fens]

Moonlight was the story of a couple of indeterminate age who arrive late and somehow endeavour to make you feel uncomfortable that they've yet to find their place.

High tension was slowly released from a 1.5ltr carbonated bottle and the contents were passed around in some kind of bonding ritual, the likes of which I hadn't seen before. This was just a prelude to the real action of 5 packets of crisps.

It didn't play out the way you'd expect, I think some kind of dare was undertaken where you had to reach for your prey without touching the enclosure. Once in hand I guess the idea is to slowly suck the life out of them because a quick death would be all too forgiving.

Fortuitously a coughing fit prevents a sixth act and we reach an unfortunate lull where one participant falls asleep. It's indicated by the snoring but perhaps this is intentional so the other can provide a constant tapping soundtrack.

I think the meaning was that you can't trust basic humanity in shared, intimate situations. All you can do is learn to fend for yourself and perhaps build an inner strength to help try and avoid making the same missteps in future. Something similar was happening on the screen up front where a story of generational sexual awakening was unfolding with some mercifully loud music. When two men embraced there was audible laughter. I can only hope it was from the aforementioned real life couple as there couldn't be a better cap to this masterpiece of theatre.

[youpigirl]

Unexpected. Beautiful. Moving. Real. Depressing. Touching.
10/10

[raj101]

very very good film 2nd time round, you get to see the very deliberate nature of the earlier scenes.

Also, what D-Fens said

[yogi]

I'm in the minority and found this really hard work, so many long meaningful pauses and looks, I felt like Mahershala Ali in the earlier scenes painfully trying to tease the slightest response / morsel of information from Chiron.

I stuck with it mainly due to the widespread 5 star reviews, but should have known it hadn't worked for me when I was checking my watch after 30 minutes.

Some good performances, just wish it had been 20 minutes shorter 4/10

[stacey9730]

Mixed feelings! Incredibly intense but slow throughout. The topic is one which gets very little coverage so it's refreshing to see a film on this. I enjoyed it but I'm not sure I'd watch it a second time!

[annase]

I found this film moving overall. However the characters don't speak much, so a lot of it is observation. I was probably being a bit slow but I didn't immediately realise it was the same character in different incarnations (ages), in all the scenes. If the fuzzy shots were supposed to represent that these were memories of the adult, as some reviewers mentioned, I didn't get that, and I didn't like the fuzzy filmwork.
The scenes at school, especially the confrontation scene in the classroom, were very powerful.
I found the accents hard to understand.

[fillumboy2]

Really want to see this, but the local cineplex is only showing this film once a day at almost ten o'clock in the evening. We would havr to leave before the film finished to make sure we got the bus home.

They did much the same thing with Denial and with Loving last month - except for these there was also an earlier showing, but as it was starting just after five o'clock, no-one who works could actually get there in time for the start.

Madness!

[Stefie]

Very powerful story however the film was quite slow throughout. I didn't love it but it was worth watching as there was some good acting throughout.
Not sure if I'd watch it again.
6/10

[prettyxcool]

Saw this at the Mayfair Hotel. A completely packed screening, not one seat spare.

A coming of age story of a gay black man, showing how people and events influences him and each one of us, how we would turn out.

Despite the three actors, playing the three acts of the film, from the lonely and neglected young boy (Little), the bullied teenager beset with problems as his homosexuality emerges (Chiron), and finally the grown man (Black) were outstanding, and the good supporting cast, I found this film really, really slow, but quite mesmerising. It is quite sad and heartbreaking, he did not seem to fit anywhere. 7/10

Naomie Harris who plays the crack taking mum was interviewed tonight on the One Show. She said she was flown to Miami and had to do her her part in three days. She had a coach to teach her the Miami accent. Originally, she was hesitant to do the role as she did not want to play a role that portrayed anything negative about women, but it was based on the mother of the director and he wanted to portray that she was also caring and had a heart. The director and the playwriter of the play on which the film is based, also went to the same school and although living in the same neighbourhood, and having the same upbringing, both mothers had AIDs, they never met each other.

[sfancy]

Saw this over the weekend. I'm not sure I get what all the hype is about. 6.5/10