One of the reasons we watch movies is to learn things we didn’t know. To discover something we didn’t even know that we didn’t know. Watching the progression of one man’s life as he grapples with his identity is a very personal experience. It allows us to drop our expectations and prejudices. It allows us to walk in another person’s shoes. It allows us to see the world how they see it.

Most of the shows and movies I’ve watched lately have been focused on getting from point A to point B to point C, to achieve some clever payoff at the end. I haven’t watched something that I could just let roll over me. Something that could capture specific moments throughout a person’s life, that shape who they are and how they interact with the world. Only after watching Moonlight did I realize how much I’d been missing and needing that.

The experience of watching Moonlight is so refreshing. Character profile films that are low on plot can often feel sluggish, and can lose the audience’s attention when it gets too bogged down. That’s not the case with Moonlight. I was completely engrossed throughout the entire film. Every beat of this film is meaningful. It’s at once both heartbreaking and beautiful. It makes us realize that we’re always searching for ourselves, trying to find the best version of our self that we can live with. Sometimes we feel like we need to hide who we are. And it takes someone who truly knows us to remind us what’s at our core.

I think the controversy over how it won Best Picture at the Oscars may have clouded this film’s importance and worth. The accidental announcement of La La Land, and subsequent confusion over who actually won, has turned out to be a representation of the larger conversation over who should have won the award. Was the Academy, as the rumors say, only giving Moonlight its highest honor as some sort of recompense for years of ignoring the work of black filmmakers and films (and LGBT films)? Or was it truly the best movie of the year?

I am not sure I’ve seen enough movies from 2016 to know the answer to that question. But I can say that this movie is wonderful, and I am completely fine with it being the representative for the finest filmmaking of that year.

4.5 Stars out of 5

 

 

To check out what I’m watching, or what I’ve watched, check out my Letterbox’d page. I’ve tried to rate every single movie I have ever seen.