Moonlight

110 minutes

English

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. At once a vital portrait of contemporary African American life and an intensely personal and poetic meditation on identity, family, friendship, and love, Moonlight is a groundbreaking piece of cinema that reverberates with deep compassion and universal truths. Anchored by extraordinary performances from a tremendous ensemble cast, Jenkins’s staggering, singular vision is profoundly moving in its portrayal of the moments, people, and unknowable forces that shape our lives and make us who we are.

starring...

Naomie Harris

Paula

André Holland

Kevin

Mahershala Ali

Juan

Janelle Monáe

Teresa

Trevante Rhodes

Chiron

Ashton Sanders

Chiron (16)

Jharrel Jerome

Kevin (16)

Writer & Director

Barry Jenkins

Story

Tarell McCraney

Cinematography

James Laxton

Editor

Joi McMillon, Nat Sanders

Music

Nicholas Britell

Casting

Yesi Ramirez

Production Design

Hannah Beachler

Art Direcction

Mabel Barba

88% on the CINEMETER

97% - Oct 23, 2016

Stunning film - will win Oscar for Best Picture. Wonderful to be pulled into this world so completely and humanely.
San Francisco Member

Breathtaking performances and direction. Hugely original, heartbreaking, authentic. Powerfull, emotinoal and poignant.
San Francisco Member

I held my breath the entire movie - gripping, compelling, heartbreaking, hopeful and riveting. Timely regarding immigration, racial issues, gay rights, and the ultimate personal choice to be who you are.
San Francisco Member

Maybe the best movie I've seen this year. Thanks for bringing it to Cinema Club.
San Francisco Member

This film was very challenging for me, a white, 70-year-old female Californian: the language, neighborhood, characters and culture. But in the end, I could relate to the search for self and belonging.
San Francisco Member

STL

93% - Oct 30, 2016

Riveting! An excellent portrayal of growing up poor and African American, being bullied for being gay and surrounded by the drug culture. Excellent acting. In the end, it was a very touching love story.
St. Louis Member

Moonlight is a beautiful example of discovery.
St. Louis Member

Powerful and poignant, a film about toxicity versus tenderness. Toxic drugs ruined the potentially positive mother-son relationship. Toxic bullying ruined friendship. Toxic macho masculinity and toxic self-loathing undermined the tenderness of relationship between Chiron and Kevin. Overall, a superb film that deals with serious issue without being preachy. Barry Jenkins' direction and the acting are superb.
St. Louis Member

I actually liked the (slow) pacing, to me it represented the internal experience, excruciatingly slow. A movie with lots of tension, tension between good/evil, between expectation/reality, between despair/hope.
St. Louis Member

A profound story of how difficult it is for some people to survive physically and emotionally their childhood and to establish an identity, value system and meaningful relationships -- to have a life.
St. Louis Member

A powerful film on so many current themes. So far from my realm of experience. There were times I couldn't understand what was being said. The tension was unbearable.
St. Louis Member

So real, it made me forget it was a movie.
St. Louis Member

ATL

78% - Oct 16, 2016

One of the most amazing displays of acting (from the whole cast) in a long time. Great, Great film (despite a few self-indulgent editing choices). Wow.
Atlanta Member

Outstanding acting. This film is one that you will think about for a LONG time. Poignant. A major departure from the "typical" black film.
Atlanta Member

Deeply moving and complex story about human frailty and vulnerability.
Atlanta Member

I've heard so much about this film over the last few weeks, and I see why. It broke my heart repeatedly, and yet it was so beautiful that I had to stick with it. And I love how open-ended it left things--not tying them up.
Atlanta Member

I loved it. I really appreciated the complexities (positive and negative) of the characters. I thought the pace made sense and I liked the build up.
Atlanta Member

I have never seen a film that gave me such a complete understanding of who is inside an unexpected exterior.
Atlanta Member

Emotionally challenging and revealing. So relatable--I felt a deep connection with Chiron at all ages which as a middle-aged white woman could been as surprising.
Atlanta Member

All the beautiful actors--male and female--all appealing, watchable, yet at first off-putting. Powerful, created empathy. The adult segment was longish, but it did pull in the previous parts and their effects. Chiron found love from his mom and Kevin.
Atlanta Member

MIL

97% - Oct 23, 2016

So intense and complicated! Need to let this one percolate for a while to fully appreciate/assimilate. Thank you!
Milwaukee Member

Excellent representation of Black men and conflicts of identity. Normalization of sexuality.
Milwaukee Member

Great film! Thank you for bringing this it early to Milwaukee.
Milwaukee Member

Beautifully emotional and visually lovely.
Milwaukee Member

One of the best films I've seen in a long time.
Milwaukee Member

Amazing! Incredible film! Wow!
Milwaukee Member

In its simplicity there is complexity. Not necessarily a love story but a story of redemption.
Milwaukee Member

BOS

78% - Oct 16, 2016

I can see why some might think the editing/pacing is too slow, but it is what I liked most about the the film--very artfully done and satisfying.
Boston Member

Riveting--so thought provoking. Wonderful poignant story
Boston Member

Acting superb!
Boston Member

Great storytelling. Good use of music and silence. It's rare to see real human feeling well portrayed with no manipulation.
Boston Member

An extraordinary film. Cinematography was outstanding. I appreciated the music as well.
Boston Member

The film included so many themes that are often separated in a seamless way. Beautifully done.
Boston Member

Very authentic and therefore heartbreaking.
Boston Member

88% - Oct 23, 2016

Stunning! Left me overwhelmed by its subtle poetry and beauty. The wordless scenes were as eloquent as any dialogue. All of the actors gave astonishing performances in their portrayals of stoic endurance and quiet resilience.
Greater New Haven Member

Such an intimate look at one man’s journey. I loved that he remained authentic despite his environment and I can only assume that he found love. So universal and not cliché. There MUST be a sequel! Loved it.
Greater New Haven Member

A beautiful, smart, and sometimes brutal meditation on what it means to grow up. Yes, it’s a nuanced portrait of inner-city Black life, but it’s also a universal, relatable tale of claiming your identity. The best Cinema Club film since ROOM.
Greater New Haven Member

Masterpiece. Best sound of any picture ever made. So allusive that it summoned aromatic and tactile dimensions too.
Greater New Haven Member

Emotionally exhausted but so glad that you brought this film to us – and forced us to open our eyes to the lives others, especially in Greater New Haven.
Greater New Haven Member

This is ‘must see’ film for ALL. It is a very human experience that all can relate to. Chiron’s vulnerability is palpable and so endearing.
Greater New Haven Member

Deeply moving film. Great acting, especially by the mother. Thought that the actors did a great job portraying the same character over the years.
Greater New Haven Member

Powerful, beautiful, poignant, poetic, tender, sweet, real, and raw. This movie touched me so deeply. Excellent!
Greater New Haven Member

One of the best movies in my 16 years of the Club. My tears flowed for one of the most poetic and romantic movies I have seen.
Greater New Haven Member

For me this movie was a very personal journey, intensely felt. I was born and raised in Miami in the same era. Although Liberty City was a parallel world to mine, we shared the same moonlight, the same blue water and warm breezes that stopped us in our tracks. When my brother was murdered in the house we grew up in – a hate crime before it was ever called a hate crime – I never looked back. Not until I heard the music and watched this film have I ever felt so homesick.
Greater New Haven Member

Here I sit, in a room full of white people, who, without this film – this experience – would never have been able to know or feel any of the things we’re feeling now – or at least what I’m feeling. It’s a film about human beings, loneliness, seductiveness, loss, betrayal, and love. So it’s both universal and like visiting another (nearby) planet. This is what art should do: fill us with wonder and empathy. I feel as if I went to another planet and met myself.
Greater New Haven Member

82% - Oct 23, 2016

Exquisitely done. Very emotional & engaging. pacing was just right. For a movie with very little violence there was a surprising amount of suspense.
Washington, DC Member

Great cast! A slice of life that we - for the most part - in our sheltered lives & community, don't see. Well Done!
Washington, DC Member

Through the whole movie, i kept thinking about how racist our country is. It depicted an almost completely separate society. not necessarily worse or better as people, nut one that is bereft of opportunity (or is that my own racist view showing?).
Washington, DC Member

Refreshing to see black characters from their perspective, not white people's stereotypes.
Washington, DC Member

Fabulous "less is more" acting. In a male dominated movie, the main women roles were strong and well acted.
Washington, DC Member

As interesting as what was shown was what was not shown though the environment he grew up in was very violent, cinematic-ally, for the most part - this was only touched on and not explicitly delved on/exploited.
Washington, DC Member

Moving ..Brilliant use of cinematography, and the music elevates and almost sanctifies some moments. A glimpse into lives that are driven forward by forces that seem to overwhelm all involved.
Washington, DC Member

Magnificent! It felt like a real privilege to live in this very different world for two hours. Could we make Donald Trump watch this?
Washington, DC Member

A24