CINEXA

Moonlight

Three time periods - young adolescence, mid-teen and young adult - in the life of black-American Chiron is presented. When a child, Chiron lives with his single, crack addict mother Paula in a crime ridden neighborhood in Miami. Chiron is a shy, withdrawn child largely due to his small size and being neglected by his mother, who is more concerned about getting her fixes and satisfying her carnal needs than taking care of him. Because of these issues, Chiron is bullied, the slurs hurled at him which he doesn't understand beyond knowing that they are meant to be hurtful. Besides his same aged Cuban-American friend Kevin, Chiron is given what little guidance he has in life from a neighborhood drug dealer named Juan, who can see that he is neglected, and Juan's caring girlfriend Teresa, whose home acts as a sanctuary away from the bullies and away from Paula's abuse. With this childhood as a foundation, Chiron may have a predetermined path in life, one that will only be magnified in terms of its problems when he reaches his difficult teen years when peer pressure affects what he and many of his peers do, unless he follows Juan's advice of truly making his own decisions for himself. Use this page to compare cast context, genre fit (Drama), release year 2016, and whether this film matches tonight's mood.

Moonlight poster on CINEXA

Story of Moonlight

Three time periods - young adolescence, mid-teen and young adult - in the life of black-American Chiron is presented. When a child, Chiron lives with his single, crack addict mother Paula in a crime ridden neighborhood in Miami. Chiron is a shy, withdrawn child largely due to his small size and being neglected by his mother, who is more concerned about getting her fixes and satisfying her carnal needs than taking care of him. Because of these issues, Chiron is bullied, the slurs hurled at him which he doesn't understand beyond knowing that they are meant to be hurtful. Besides his same aged Cuban-American friend Kevin, Chiron is given what little guidance he has in life from a neighborhood drug dealer named Juan, who can see that he is neglected, and Juan's caring girlfriend Teresa, whose home acts as a sanctuary away from the bullies and away from Paula's abuse. With this childhood as a foundation, Chiron may have a predetermined path in life, one that will only be magnified in terms of its problems when he reaches his difficult teen years when peer pressure affects what he and many of his peers do, unless he follows Juan's advice of truly making his own decisions for himself.

Use this page to compare cast context, genre fit (Drama), release year 2016, and whether this film matches tonight's mood.

Title facts

  • Type Movie
  • Release year 2016
  • Released 18 Nov 2016
  • Runtime 111 minutes
  • Content rating R
  • IMDb rating IMDb 7.4/10 from 349,429 votes
  • Metascore 99/100
  • Genres Drama
  • Languages English
  • Countries United States

Cast

Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Trevante Rhodes

Direction and writing

Directed by: Barry Jenkins

Written by: Barry Jenkins, Tarell Alvin McCraney

Awards and recognition

Won 3 Oscars. 235 wins & 310 nominations total

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