Director
Barry Jenkins
Leading Actors/Actresses
Trevante Rhodes, Naomie Harris, Ashton Sanders, Alex R. Hibbert
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monae, André Holland
Genre
Drama
Language
English
Awards
Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor, Golden Globe for Best Picture
Date of Release
November 18, 2016
Producer
Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner
Setting and Context
1980s, 1990s, and Present-Day Miami
Narrator and Point of View
N/A
Tone and Mood
Meditative, somber, longing, impressionistic, wistful.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: Chiron; Antagonist: Paula
Major Conflict
Moonlight's major conflict revolves around Chiron's attempt to find love and human connection in the ruins of Miami's crack epidemic.
Climax
The climax of the film comes when Chiron reunites with his best friend and object of desire, Kevin.
Foreshadowing
-When Paula prohibits Little from watching TV as punishment for failing to come home the previous night, this foreshadows the day when Paula will sell their TV to buy crack.
Understatement
N/A
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
Moonlight had the lowest overall budget of any Oscar winner of Best Picture in history
Allusions
N/A
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
-Kevin serving Black Cuban food in the diner parallels the soul food that Teresa would make for Chiron when he was young.
-Just as Kevin tells Black that he must speak if he's to eat the food he's been served, so too does Teresa encourage Little to speak at the dinner table.
-When tough-guy Black washes his face in cold water, it parallels the scene in which Chiron must ice his face after having been beaten to a pulp by bullies.
-When Little draws a bath using blue dish soap, it calls to mind the scene in which Juan teaches him to swim in the ocean and tells him that he used to be called Blue.
-Just as Juan decorates his car with a crown ornament, so too does Black, drawing the two figures together as doubles of one another.
-Little and Kevin wrestling each other at age nine parallels the day on which Kevin beats Chiron to a pulp at the behest of a bully.
