Moonlight (2016)
It is no wonder why Moonlight (2016) won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2017.
It is no wonder why Moonlight (2016) won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2017. (Let’s forget that whole snafu where La La Land (2016) won initially.) This film by A24 and Barry Jenkins, who later directed If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), follows the life of a young gay black man, Chiron, in Miami in three parts. It’s known for being visually stunning—using warm and cool lighting that accents the actors’ darker skin tones, which is not common enough in Hollywood—and bringing Mahershala Ali to our collective consciousness. It very much holds up; it’s only been 4 years (ugh). I still don’t believe the ending: who doesn’t want some Trevante Rhodes in their life? I mean, look at him! Watch Moonlight on Kanopy and Netflix.