“Moonlight”
A movie that made 2 hours somehow feel like 12 hours and 30 minutes at the same time. Undoubtedly, one of the most perfectly paced, shot, scripted, and technically executed films of the 21st century, if not ever. The silence, the color palette, and the character-focused shots all contribute to feeling almost as if you know each of these characters.
It’s just raw emotion, which is ironic because the main character shows absolutely zero emotion for 90% of the movie. But, the way they encapsulate emotion through cinematic techniques, symbolism and character interactions is so natural that the story progresses while acknowledging the emotions of the characters at the same time so effortlessly.
The world building and structure of this movie is unnerving. Any handheld sequence made my heart race quite a bit more; not because of the area they are in, but because of the uncertainty of how the characters will react based upon how they were developed and portrayed.
The way with which Chiron is portrayed from the start is masterful. A lonely, uncertain boy who puts these walls up around his life and his personality because he was told by his mother and his peers that his voice isn’t welcomed, or that he’s not worth paying attention to. Then, when he finds people he can trust, he sees a glimmer of hope of what life can be like.
At first, it was Juan, who taught him how to swim, which is easily one of my favorite scenes in any movie. I think similarly to Swimming by Mac Miller, Juan teaches Chiron that swimming is metaphorical for life: you are the center of your own life, and you can drown in sorrow, in your own tears (like Travis told him), or you can fight to swim through your own tragedy into success and passion.
I think, however, all of Juan’s messages were somewhat misunderstood by Chiron. He saw this man who’s successful, wise, and seemingly happy, and automatically thought that he needed to be like him, because the version of success that he saw in Juan was what he was told was his only option of success. When Juan showed him he could swim, he meant swim away from where he grew up, away from the constraints that everyone has conformed to and told him he had to conform to.
The next person he trusted, Travis, betrayed that trust by at first acknowledging how emotionally complex Chiron was and how he could escape that life, and then following by conforming to his surroundings and doing it so that it directly affected Chiron. After this, he lost whatever remaining spark he had for going against the grain, and throws it all away essentially, following the same path as Juan, which is incredibly tragic after seeing how guilty Juan feels while being a drug dealer.
The third act shows a hidden tragedy of how Chiron turned out. Although he’s successful, he’s not himself, and both his mom and Travis know it. Chiron, unfortunately, wasn’t aware, because he never trusted anyone or opened up to anyone after Travis, likely as a result of the broken relationship with his mother as I touched on earlier. This results in only fragments of Chiron’s identity peeking out through the money and drugs and flashiness he now holds.
Yet, when faced with a chance at forgiving, he allows himself to become vulnerable, because that’s how he can escape: trust. Not strictly trusting his mom or Travis, but trusting himself. It’s just the two of them gave him the understanding and the reason and the support for him to trust himself, because they know him more than anyone, even if he doesn’t like to admit it.
It leaves us asking if it’s too late for him and if he’s too far gone, or if he has a chance at redemption. Travis showed him there’s a chance at recovery, he’s just gotta find his reason.
It’s a poetically tragic story that represents the struggles of millions and millions of people all over the world. Whether it be with their sexuality, their encounters with racism, their surroundings when growing up, or the expectations placed upon them, people around the world encounter this daily. And this movie serves as an inspiration to learn to swim in life, become the center of your own world, and chase the moonlight.
