"Who is you, Chiron?," asks a character at one point in Barry Jenkins'
Moonlight. The truth is Chiron himself isn't sure of it. In many ways the movie is like
Boyhood, Richard Linklater's coming-of-age tale. Only here it's also about coming out. Otherwise all you see are random snapshots in the life of Little/Chiron/Black as he grows from a skinny little kid to a teen conflicted by his sexuality and coming to grips with his feelings for his friend Kevin and finally to a sinewy, bulked up drug-dealer who, beneath all that tough armour he has created for himself, is still that same shy, withdrawn man yearning for love that seems so difficult and forbidden. But they stay with you long afterwards, molding into a cohesive whole while offering an intimate glimpse into Chiron's psyche. Shot brilliantly in Miami in a way not often seen in films,
Moonlight (adapted from Tarell Alvin McCraney's autobiographical play
In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, alluding to the fact that outward appearance isn't everything) is tender, sensitive and poignant, and a thought-provoking movie about identity and about the things left unsaid.
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