PLAT D: Barry Jenkins. U.S. 111 min. Sep 10, 8:30 pm, Winter Garden Sep 11, 9 am, TIFF Bell Lightbox 1 Sep 17, 3:15 pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox 1. Rating: NNNN
Wrapped up in the controversy surrounding Birth Of A Nation director Nate Parker are comments Parker made on BET explaining why he would never take on a gay role because he wanted to “preserve the Black man.”
That toxic mentality, where homosexuality is an assumed threat to Black masculinity, hovers over this melancholic, beautiful and touching coming-of-ager set in the crack–addled ’hoods of Miami.
Moonlight dips into different stages of Chiron’s life, as a boy, a teen and a man. Through each stage, he struggles to overcome the crippling fear of who he is in an environment that refuses to accept him.
Jenkins balances raw honesty with dreamy imagery and keeps his narrative loose, riding emotional beats instead of getting trapped inside a finite beginning and end. That is exactly how it should be.
Don’t miss our interview with Moonlight’s Janelle Monáe here.
