A circle dolly and a long tracking shot introduce and gracefully link two characters to each other and their milieu. This virtuosic opening immediately won me over to Barry Jenkins' Moonlight, the most recent Best Picture winner. This coming of age story beautifully captures the colors and light of South Florida whilst the harsh artificial glow of the interiors cast an alienated eye to domestic discord. The sullen, gay protagonist, Chiron, has fleeting moments of release outside (both figuratively and literally) of his daily routine, but inside his home and school he is beset by his crack addled Mom and an indifferent educational environment.
Largely shorn of cliché. Moonlight maintains its momentum through its first two acts until it flounders a bit in its drawn out last third. Andre Holland, so good in The Knick, provides some charisma as Chiron's long lost love, Kevin. Kevin is able to help Chiron drop the mask of his machismo, if only for moments, and try to release long pent up feelings. Their embrace is not milked as a happy ending, but as a furtive moment of comfort amidst a world of suffering. Moonlight succeeds as a drama because it does not proffer tidy bromides, but an ambivalent mix of sorrow and beauty. (4/26/17)
No comments:
Post a Comment