Moonlight reflects upon the life of Chiron as he ventures through the film’s 3 parts, Little, Chiron and Black. As audience, we are full of empathy to the hardships that Chiron undergoes and the way his relationships impact who he becomes; we feel all of this in a film which critically identifies how black masculinity is portrayed whilst exploring a myriad of themes - love, sex, identity, survival...

From a very young age Chiron is exposed to excessively brutal and toxic masculinity in his teenage peer group, resulting in his alienation and homophobic judgement. Meanwhile Kevin, his friend, avoids being targeted by hiding his sexuality. This injustice is exacerbated throughout the film, for instance when Kevin participates in a hazing ritual against Chiron and when Chiron is undeservedly sent to a juvenile hall.

By the end of the film Chiron feels he has to align himself with the expected heteronormative ideals of black masculinity so as to evade maltreatment, leaving the film with a poignant and melancholic depiction of society.

There is an aura of vulnerability around Chiron from the get-go, he goes through childhood hating his mother for her instabilities, missing a father and ironically being protected by Juan who is simultaneously cause for Chiron’s woes. It is a semi-miracle that he survives.

The film itself is full of much smaller intricacies beneath the surface. For example, at various intervals water is depicted in the film as being a factor to Chiron’s introspection. This might be in a bath, or in/by the ocean, where Chiron has his first romantic experience and is taught to swim. Here, the ocean could symbolise the immensity of life’s elegance and injustice in just one setting which interconnects all of Chiron’s experiences. With all of these converging factors it is certainly a well-crafted, must-watch film.