The independent film about an African-American man, who struggles to find his place in the rough urban neighborhood of Miami Florida is bringing in over 150 wins including Best Picture for a drama at the Golden Globes as well as Best supporting Actress and Actor and is currently up for 8 additional Oscars.
The film chronicles the life of Chiron (Little) (Black) from childhood (roughly ages 10-through his late 20’s) and the situations that he encounters which ultimately shapes him into the man he becomes. Having to deal with bullying from classmates as well as his drug addicted mother, Chiron finds comfort in the friendliness of Juan, (Mahershala Ali) and his girl, Teresa, (Janelle Monae) who ends up taking him in as a second home, when he can’t go home to his own.
All in all, with a run time of nearly two hours, there is power in the acting from the first scene with Alex Hibbert in his first theatrical debut as “Little”. Hibbert excels in portraying the troubled young boy who just wants to be accepted, by both his friends and his mother. Through “Little’s” emotion we see without little words, the deep struggle as well as the beauty in bromance as his only friend, Kevin encourages him to keep fighting.
Moonlight came out in theaters, November 18, 2016, and has brought in over 18 million domestically. It’s currently still playing in select theaters, leading up to the 89th Annual Academy awards, which will air on February 26, 2017, where we will see if Moonlight has what it takes to win the ultimate award.
See it now either on the big screen or when it comes out on February 28, 2017 after the awards show.