Essay on 'Moonlight' Film Analysis

The chosen extract is taken from Barry Jenkin’s second feature film Moonlight, which he directed and co-wrote. The film follows the life and struggles of Chiron, a young and poor black boy, growing up and coming to terms with his sexuality, a life not often portrayed in commercial films. This analysis focuses on the economic and social context of the film and choices in cinematography, sound, editing, genre, mise-en-scene, symbols, narrative structure, themes, and motifs to convey meaning according to the filmmaker’s intentions, vision, and influences.

Moonlight was released in 2016 and is set in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, known for gang and drug violence, during the crack epidemic of the 1980s. Despite the outcomes of the civil rights movement, black Americans remain a socially disadvantaged group. It was created at a time when society looks beyond personal experiences, and many voices are sought. The film had a limited budget but compensated with high attention to detail and strong artistic quality. It was the first film to feature an all-black cast. Jenkins worked closely with award-winning writer Tarell Alvin McCraney who wrote the original play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue while in drama school at Yale in 2003. Both Jenkins and McCraney grew up in Liberty City, and both of their mothers were addicts, like Chiron’s mother.

The film is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story of love and anguish, which has received critical acclaim for its narrative and how it is crafted. The film is patient in that it reveals characters through expressions. Jenkins presents the linear narrative in three separate acts. In the first act, he is 9 years old and nicknamed “Little” by the taunting school boys. The name changes at the start of each act to reflect the people who are giving him pain and correspond to the protagonist’s identity. Chiron is tormented by bullies and insecurities and lives with a mother fighting drug addiction. Juan, a drug dealer, rescues Chiron after seeing boys chasing him throwing bottles, and from that moment steps in as a father figure to Chiron.

The film challenges many stereotypes and assumptions of African-American lives and communities. The characters are real and relatable, and overturn the audience's expectations with their actions. Juan embodies the hardest masculinity yet is a model of gay acceptance. Themes and issues including the acceptance of homosexuality within black communities and how society shapes young men and embraces boys who live outside the hypermasculine world are significant in this film. Moonlight considers black boys to be precious, contrary to negative media portrayal, and challenges the ideology that African Americans are more homophobic than white people.

The chosen sequence occurs when Juan arrives at his house and finds Chiron sitting in his front garden. Juan decides to take Chiron to the beach and teach him how to swim and to be comfortable with fear. This scene is a powerful moment in Chiron’s life and marks a turning point in the narrative. It is the first time the audience observes Chiron at ease with himself and the two are represented in their barest and truest selves. Chiron has never trusted anyone before this moment. Jenkins stated that there needed to be a moment of spiritual transference and intimate bonding between them. Juan is based on a person McCraney knew as a child.

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Water is a significant symbolic element of the mise-en-scene that features throughout the film and is used to seamlessly connect the three acts. Jenkins develops the water’s significance in the extract by establishing it as a means of Chiron’s release, renewal, and self-discovery from his troubled childhood. Water symbolizes the Christian ritual of baptism also illuminating the themes of redemption and guilt. Juan is a father figure but a flawed role model to Chiron, supplying drugs to Chiron’s mother and indirectly responsible for Chiron’s predicament in life. Juan takes Chiron to the ocean to be freed from the social and cultural burdens in their lives. Water washes away their worries and any thoughts of the outside world. Juan bathes him with nurturance and compassion to provide safe passage for re-entrance into a new world of trust, love, and the beginning of self-acceptance. Juan physically and metaphorically teaches Chiron to keep his head above water, despite the many obstacles he faces. The ocean is mysterious and open, and as the characters immerse themselves in it, it brings out their vulnerability. In this extract, the audience can see the co-existence of masculinity and affection in Juan’s character, and that compassion is not a feminine characteristic, but a human characteristic. Juan’s tough external appearance and status are juxtaposed with his true character who is nurturing, patient and protective.

The sound of the breeze in this extract evokes a calming and relaxing atmosphere and a sense of freedom. The classical music being played enhances this atmosphere adding a sense of fluid motion and peace. The classical music is in stark contrast to the type of music (such as hip hop) used in stereotypical movies of African Americans in Miami. The diegetic sounds of waves provide audio imagery which creates the idea of Miami being an idealistic utopia, contrasting with the reality of these characters’ lives. Jenkins, who grew up in Miami, has said that the ocean has energy, and you could always feel it. He intends to give the audience the same sensations that he had growing up.

In the shot before the characters enter the water, we see Blue objects scattered evenly throughout the frame, including benches and deckchairs. This is symbolic of calmness and alludes to the original title of the play. After swimming in the water, Juan and Chiron return to the shore and sit under the palm trees. Juan tells Chiron that an old lady once stopped him to say when the moon is out, black boys look blue, and that is why he was nicknamed “Blue”. Through this dialogue, Juan is teaching

Chiron about the beauty of the black body, and the fragility of being black in the context of 1980s Liberty City. You are more than what your skin color might define you as, and you should have pride in being that color. There are layers to being black and the layers are revealed under the moonlight. Blue represents individual characters, identity, and tone. Juan also says at some point Chiron will have to decide who he is going to be, and no one can make that decision for him. This dialogue refers to the unique self, a message to Chiron to be his authentic self. Juan tells Chiron that he used to be like him, and this is illustrated by the transformation of Chiron’s character and the changes to Chiron’s appearance throughout the film. Jenkins relies on the sensory experience of 1980s Liberty City for the look and feel of the film. The “Miami teal” prevails throughout the film. Chiron’s experience of his environment focuses on colors and textures, which not only characterize people but also bring Miami to life, allowing it to be a character in itself.

Jenkins made specific camera choices to make the scene powerful. Unexpected circumstances on the day of filming added another layer as the scene had to be completed in 90 minutes due to the forecast of bad weather. Jenkins placed the camera on the horizon, bobbing in and out of the water, as is Chiron. The intention was to make the scene immersive, with the lens partly in and out of the water, and to give the appearance of the water washing over the audience. The audience feels as though they are in the water with the characters and this helps the audience sympathise with them. The camera shots in the water remain moving and compelling for their beauty and symbolic quality, mirroring Juan and encouraging Chiron to keep his head above water. Close-ups of Chiron’s facial expressions and gestures show his wariness and lack of trust, with the silence almost tangible. Chiron and the actor who plays him have never swum before, which creates a genuine performance. The use of an anamorphic lens makes figures appear skinnier and stretches the frame, while also emphasizing isolation. In the following scene with Juan and Chiron sitting on the beach, the fluid movement in the cinematography together with the long shot duration, slow rhythm, and pace represent Chiron’s point of view and underline a secure bond and warmth between himself and Juan. The eye-line match in the dialogue scene at the end of the extract further establishes the connection between the characters. The shallow depth of field in this scene focuses the characters in the foreground with the background out of focus appearing as colourful abstract shapes. This creates a dramatic effect, developing the connection, and unites them as elements on the screen that are in focus, with all external forces having no importance.

Jenkins ensures a very precise and controlled use of color and lighting, which has become a political feature. The use of light and post-production colourisation create contrast and capture the rich skin tone of African-American characters challenging how black characters are lit and shot. This use of contrast makes Chiron stand out to the audience and highlights his inability to fit in with his peers and society. Jenkins emphasizes the importance of light and heat to establish the location of Miami. Perspiration is inherent in every experience and demonstrates that there is beauty to a sheen. The cinematographer used the contrast of shadow from the sun and moon and sheen from perspiration to sculpt the character's faces. This aligns with the expressionistic aesthetic of the film, where every scene is shown through the filter of Chiron’s emotions. Scenes use a careful and precise synthesis of cinematography, sound, and mise-en-scene to not only establish character, setting, and themes but also to capture challenging political ideologies. Jenkins and the cinematographer wanted to avoid a documentary or realist look, which had become common in independent American films challenging social and political issues. Jenkins stated he sought a dreamlike feel to immerse the audience in the protagonist’s world and that was established in the color and light of Miami. The scene emulates a Fuji film stock, with warmer tones which bring out the texture of skin tones. The shots are overexposed, which makes the scene appear brighter, which adds to the dreamlike feel and the glowing quality also highlights Chiron’s vulnerability.