Moonlight

“Moonlight” is a film written and directed by Barry Jenkins based on a play written by Tarell McCraney. It tells the story of an African American boy highlighting three distinct chapters in his life as he navigates his way on the road from pre-teen to manhood experiencing all of life’s obstacles and difficulties one might expect there to be growing up in a lower class South Florida neighborhood. The film stars Alex R. Hibbert, Andre Holland ("Selma" "The Knick) and Ashton Sanders and a cast of supporting actors that do their best to try to make the film equal to the rave reviews it has received. Unfortunately, for this reviewer at least, the film, as good as it is, is not the great American film entry of 2016 as so many more noted critics have labelled it. I found that the film was too long and draggy and the scenes and chapters did not flow or segue from one to the other in an easy manner. Casting also became an issue but one would have to actually see the film to understand this comment.  Make no mistake, this is a powerful and important film showing the plight that so many lower class youths experience and how their intra-cultural encounters so often shape their low expectancy lives. Mr. Jenkins, as writer and director, has I fear bitten off a bit more than he can chew. However, with all that being said, he has given us an interesting and thought provoking product. I give the film 3 stars although I must admit that I had difficulty believing that the film I saw on the screen was the same one about which the critics unamimously praised.