Movie: Moonlight

Release Date: October 21, 2016

Director: Barry Jenkins

Starring: Trevante Rhodes, Andre Holland, Janelle Monae, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali

Personal History: Watched Before

Rating: 8 Oscars out of 10

‘Moonlight’ is based on the semi-autobiographical play by Tarell Alvin McCraney called ‘In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.’ Its adaptation to the big screen was written and directed by Barry Jenkins and was released in 2016 to wide critical acclaim. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning three including Best Picture. It has since been hailed as one of the greatest films of the 21st century.

‘Moonlight’ is a very memorable movie but is probably most remembered for the announcement error at the 89th Academy Awards. You know, when Warren Beatty set up Faye Dunaway as the fall guy (gal) to announce ‘La La Land’ as the winner for Best Picture when in fact it was ‘Moonlight.’ He knew there was an error but shoved the card in Ms. Dunaway’s face so that he didn’t look like the idiot saying the wrong title. Typical male behavior.

As much as I was a fan of ‘Moonlight,’ I was a much bigger fan of the movie ‘La La Land.’ So for that minute or two during the award ceremony I was elated. That elation quickly turned to confusion. When it was all sorted out and revealed that my favorite film that year (and the one I picked to win) did not in fact get the trophy, I got a little annoyed. That negative feeling towards ‘Moonlight’ stayed with me quite a bit afterwards.

Again, it is not that I disliked ‘Moonlight.’ I actually really loved it. I am just a firm believer that the movie with the most single nominations in the categories is clearly the “best picture” of that year. ‘La La Land’ was nominated for 14 Oscars that year in thirteen categories. (Two songs from the film were nominated for Best Original Song.) As mentioned above, ‘Moonlight’ was nominated for eight. I get that there can be some upsets, and that is part of what makes the Oscars fun, but I stand by my opinion that ‘La La Land’ was the better film that year.

I first saw the film in theaters after it received its Oscar nomination for Best Picture. As you may or may not know, I try to see all of the Best Picture nominations before the Oscar telecast. That year was no different. After seeing the film, I finally realized what all the hype was about as I fell in love with it.

‘Moonlight’ is a terrific movie. The stunning direction and acting in the film make the (sometimes) slow moving plot to places that cinema has not seen before. Tackling themes like toxic masculinity, specifically black masculinity, and homophobia was quite refreshing and uplifting to see. It is ground-breaking in the fact that this was the first LGBTQ-themed mass-marketed feature film with an all-black cast. Representation matters so much and for that ‘Moonlight’ gets all of my praise. We need more films like this to see lives which are rarely seen in cinema.

Shortly after the Oscars, I purchased the movie on DVD and watched the film with my soon-to-be husband. In fact, we were married ten days later. My husband loves any art that is gay produced, created or themed, so he loved the movie. Again, so did I. It was just too soon after the Oscars for me to praise it as it should be praised. That was probably the last time I watched the film until this challenge. Seven years later and I can honestly say the “sting” of ‘La La Land’s’ loss is far gone and I can appreciate ‘Moonlight’ for the tremendous piece of art that it truly is.