MOONLIGHT: THIS Is The Best Picture?

I’ve said for some time now that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is completely out of touch with the real world. The last time I think they got it right was when LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING won and that was in 2003. If you disagree that’s fine but then name at least 5 movies that have won for best picture since then not including the most recent. Which is what I’m here to discuss. MOONLIGHT.

The story of MOONLIGHT follows the life of Chiron aka Little. Divided into three sections we see Little as a young child, later as a teen and finally as an adult. As the film opens Little is being chased by several other boys who are calling him gay in the most slang term kids can figure at that age. Running away he hides in an abandoned motel where he is found by Juan (Mahershala Ali). Juan is the local supplier for crack on the street but he’s taken an interest in Chiron.

Chiron’s mother Paula (Naomie Harris) isn’t happy that Juan has taken this interest. To her the boy only needs his mother and not some local drug dealer in his life. Unfortunately she is well acquainted with said dealer as she is one of his regular customers.  When she goes on a bender, Little ends up at the home of Teresa (Janelle Monae), Juan’s girlfriend. He also find’s comfort in the friendship he has with Kevin, another boy at school.

The second chapter deals with the events in Little’s life that change him forever. Still battling the bullying he gets at school one night he and Kevin hang out on the beach (the film takes place in Miami). There the two young boys have a sexual encounter. Before anyone goes ballistic this I will say that it is tastefully handled when you consider what most straight sexual situations involve. The next day one of the bullies, friends with Kevin, reminds him of an old game they used to play where they would pick someone out of a crowd and challenge each other to knock them out. Of course he picks Little. Unwilling to let them know his true feelings, Kevin follows through, crushing Little emotionally.

The third chapter involves Little now going by his given name of Chiron. His life is completely different now, altered by the fallout from the final moments of the second section of the film. Street smart and following in the footsteps of Juan he re-encounters Kevin. Where things go from there is anyone’s guess and deserves to be seen rather than discussed.

Trust me when I say I’ve not revealed too many details of the story here. It is the bare bones description with more around it. What those words don’t do though is inform you of just how bad this movie it. It commits the ultimate sin in a movie for me: it’s boring. At no time did I find myself feeling an extreme amount of sympathy for any of the characters found in this film. Perhaps a smidgen of empathy for young Little but his unwillingness to stand up for himself slowly eases away your caring for him. None of the other characters have much of a redeeming quality about them either with perhaps the exception of Juan but the fact that he deals crack makes that a little hard to take.

The pacing of the movie is incredibly slow. With each passing minute I found myself clicking the remote to find out just how much of the movie was left. But this was supposed to be the best movie made last year having just won the Oscar for Best Picture. So I hung in there, never fast forwarding and roughing it through from start to finish. By the time the credits began to roll I couldn’t wait to hit stop.

This movie is one of those films made to appeal to both critics and fellow actors. It is an attempt to justify film as an art film and in so doing it degrades that possibility instead. For some reason those in the business think that to qualify as art a movie can’t be entertaining or popular it seems. If you don’t believe me tell me how many of the Best Picture winners from the last 10 years have you seen. I’ve seen all but 2 and can tell you that only 4 of them are in my collection and they are ones I rarely revisit.

Hollywood needs to stop trying to prove to the worlds that they are an art form and carry on making movies that entertain. And when doing so they need to ease back on the remakes, adaptations of comics (even if I love those movies) and never ending sequels. There was a time when movies were made in weeks rather than months, when they came out in droves rather than a slow release and when even drive in movies provided entertainment and creativity. As for this movie I can’t recommend enough steering clear of it. That is unless you’re in need of something to lull you into sleep and pills are not available.

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