Moonlight’ (2016)
Barry Jenkins’ portrait of three formative periods in the life of a Black gay man growing up in Miami’s poor Liberty City neighborhood during the 1980s crack epidemic explores a complex struggle of identity, including a sexual one.
My Oscar Book:
This great movie, which deservedly won the 2016 Best Picture Oscar, is defined by the sensual vitality of self-discovery and romantic yearning that most adolescents experience.
The young protagonist’s first sexual experience on a beach at night is a scene of great, unexpected intimacy.
That earlier scene becomes more meaningful in his encounter years later–with that same adolescent first love–which stops short of explicit seduction, while Barbara Lewis doo-wop hit “Hello Stranger” plays on the jukebox.
