Moonlight might be the best movie of the year. Critics have swooned over Barry Jenkins’ second feature-length film, which premiered on October 21. The film explores the trials and tribulations of a queer black man, Chiron, that struggles with his sexuality, family, race, and masculinity. It is filmed in three chapters: “Little”, “Chiron”, and “Black”. These chapters evaluate three distinct periods of Chiron’s life, and are portrayed by three different actors.
Moonlight thrives in its authenticity. The film does not lack conflict by any means, but it refuses to hit the audience over the head with a singular, definite message. Rather, it’s humanness is what makes it so unique. Movies often look so hard for a purpose or identity that once it finds one, the message seems insincere. So, here is a film that elicits a distinct sense of empathy while exploring an array of pertinent themes. How does one properly criticize a film like this?
A.O. Scott says in the last paragraph of his criticism of Moonlight, “I guess I’m back to where I started, trying to decide what this movie is about.” Scott clearly thought this movie accomplishes its object, but he’s not sure exactly was that object is. His analysis is not short on references- he compares the film to Ta-Nehisi Coates’s book “Between the World and Me”, James Baldwin’s book “Go Tell it on the Mountain”, and Richard Linklater’s film Boyhood. However, he does not seem to know how to contextualize this film in a satisfactory way that gives Moonlight’s potential audience a clear reference point as to what kind of movie they will watch.
Early in his review, he writes, “The nature and meaning of manhood is one of Mr. Jenkins’s chief concerns. How tough are you supposed to be? How cruel? How tender? How brave? And how are you supposed to learn?” This sounds like the start of a meaningful assessment on how masculinity is portrayed in this movie. An in-depth interpretation on this subject would be an enlightening article. In doing so, he could show people what distinguishes this movie from the run of the mill Oscar nominee, and the nature of how Jenkins frames and explores his subject matter.
Instead, Scott instead opts to touch on a plethora of themes in a scattered fashion. He talks about how the film comments on drug culture, blackness, adaptation, and the criminal justice system. Scott lacks the ability to do what this film has done so masterfully: ensure variety and originality without sacrificing coherence. The unconventional narrative and style of this film demands an unconventional assessment, and Scott fails in that regard. In saying too much, we derive so little from his writing
Conversely, Vince Mancini’s review gives a fascinating analysis of how Barry Jenkins’ previous work influenced Moonlight. Saris’ argument about auteur theory emphasizes the importance of evaluating the director’s body of work, treating the artist that constructed the film world as significant of a figure as the actors and actresses. Mancini guides the reader through Jenkins’ debut film, Medicine for Melancholy, which grossed just over $100K in the box office.
Having the background of Mancini’s bright spots and failures in this project gives Jenkins’ future audience context walking into the film. Medicine doesn’t develop a sense of who Micah, the hero of the movie, really is. However, Mancini contrasts this with Chiron, who also fails to verbalize his feelings. In Moonlight, this inability is related to “codes of silence” that are articulated in Chiron’s past, which the audience experiences during the first chapter. Mancini discusses recurring tropes that Jenkins emphasizes in his work like coming of age, identity, and gentrification. But, in Mancini’s writing we get a sense of the subtle narrative style Jenkins uses to depict these tropes, with some description of his stylistic tendencies mixed in for film buffs. He narrows his focus to what he notices is repeated during Medicine and Moonlight. But, the article is not overly narrow. Its assessment allows for deeper commentary combined with diverse talking points.
Most importantly, this article allows us to feel like we know Jenkins as an artist. This intensifies the audience’s personal connection to the film before they even see it. Jenkins is as interesting a character in his artwork as his main character, Chiron. We learn about his journey through his artistic past, and this information gives the readers another platform for discussion.
Mancini’s work passes the test for the formula for good criticism: knowledge + taste =meaningful judgement. We are treated to relevant comparisons with original opinions that show expertise. Background is essential in order to examine what specifically separates this film from other films that lack traditional narrative structures or traditional protagonists. Scott’s stream of consciousness writing shows taste; he is able to pinpoint essential themes in a well-written manner. But, it is hard to identify what exactly the reader gains from such a style. While Scott loses his arguments in the tangled web of the unorthodox, Mancini finds a niche that is informative in quantity and quality.
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This is very interesting. I too wrote about “Moonlight” and couldn’t believe the universal praise, and I looked at two completely different critiques! I wonder how these compare to Hilton Als’ piece in The New Yorker, as he took a much more personal approach.
I would also love to see Mancini’s piece compared to Wesley Morris’ in the NYT. He too looked at more than the movie, but instead of going through Jenkins’ past, he looked at the past of black men in culture in general. Very interesting. I will have to read these two reviews.
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Joe — Nice comparison of these two film reviews. I wonder if Scott’s struggle with the film had to do precisely with the ways in which Jenkins does not chose one neat theme. To contextualize this, as Mancini does, offers one way to let the richness and multiplicity of themes in the film live without trying to reduce them or pin down the film to one category.
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PS I would like to hear a bit more of the voices of the two critics in your review so that I can follow your critique. The language each one uses could continue to enrich your comparison.
Joe, I enjoyed your essay.
I also believe that providing a coherent structure that does not sacrifice the explication of the diverse themes in films is a tough job. Especially in short critiques, critics are pressured to stick to talk about one thing rather than everything about the movie. Some tend to focus on auteur theory and tries to unravel the film through the lens of the director’s other works; some tend to focus on the story itself. Some movies require more explanation than others, and this can also be a problem for critics.
Thank you for sharing your thought!
This is a great point about the challenges of film critique! Especially in shorter reviews, striking a balance between a coherent structure and exploring the diverse themes within a film can be tricky.
You effectively outline the pressure critics face to focus on a single aspect, whether it’s auteur theory or plot analysis. This is a struggle many readers encounter as well, wondering how to approach a film’s richness without getting overwhelmed.
Your observation about some films requiring more unpacking than others resonates as well. A truly insightful critique can navigate these challenges and provide a well-rounded analysis that doesn’t sacrifice depth.
Thanks for bringing this up for discussion
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