MOONLIGHT

Trevante Rhodes

MOONLIGHT (2016). Written and directed by Barry Jenkins.

Chiron (Alex R. Hibbert) is a little boy living in a depressed black neighborhood where his mother, Paula (Naomie Harris) is a "crack whore." Chiron is befriended by a local drug dealer, Juan (Mahershala Ali), and his girlfriend, Teresa (Janelle Monae). Shy, withdrawn and spindly, Chiron is thought to be gay and is bullied, although he is treated more kindly by his friend, Kevin (Jaden Piner). Later, when the boys are teenagers (now played by Ashton Sanders and Jharrel Jerome), they have a sexual encounter. After Chiron strikes back against a homophobic bully who forces Kevin to beat Chiron, the latter does a stretch in juvie. Ten years later, now a buff and handsome grown man (Trevante Rhodes), Chiron gets an unexpected call from Kevin (Andre Holland) ... Oh, how I wanted to love Moonlight, as I was delighted that a film whose lead character was both black and gay could win an Academy Award for Best Picture in today's climate. Unfortunately, an astute critic has to separate a film as political statement from a film as art. I realize the film's problem for me was not so much its subtlety -- as it's not that subtle -- but an overly low-key approach that almost completely strips it of dramatic intensity. Fully half the movie deals with Chiron as a boy (although the death of his father surrogate, Juan, is only mentioned in passing), with a good forty minutes showing Chiron as a teen. That doesn't leave much time for Chiron as an adult, and the film ends abruptly, making many in the audience wonder "is that all there is?"

True, the lead character -- who has been so uncommunicative and disaffected for most of his life -- finally reaches out to someone, revealing the sensitivity that remains under the surface, in the last few minutes of the film, but while this has internal importance, it is not exactly "dramatic." The ending hints at things for Chiron and Kevin that may never materialize. Frankly, there are quite a few gay independent films (which have never gotten the attention that Moonlight has) that have much stronger story lines. In fact, it could be argued that Moonlight doesn't so much have a plot as a premise, and one that is never fully realized.

While a film should be judged by what it is and not what it isn't, one can't help but notice that the movie, aside from the bullying aspects which are universal, never really deals with homophobia within the African-American community -- even Juan seems nominally pro-gay. (In fact, it never really deals with Chiron's feelings about being gay or if he even identifies as such.) Aside from the adult Kevin registering disapproval over the adult Chiron's criminal career choice, the film doesn't even deal with black attitudes towards drug dealers who help decimate their own communities. In fact, it troubles me that drug dealers are portrayed sympathetically in this picture. And that there are so many black stereotypes. (To judge from Hollywood movies, including those made by black filmmakers, 90% of the black community consists of drug dealers and crack whores.)  Then there's the fact that the ending, with its intimate but non-sexual encounter, could be considered a cop-out. But far worse is the fact that virtually every character, including Chiron, is basically one-dimensional.

This last may not be apparent to the casual viewer because the acting in the film is uniformly excellent. There isn't a bad performance, and there's especially notable work from Sanders and Rhodes, and young Hibbert is amazing. While it's not at all unrealistic that a spindly gay kid could reinvent himself as a burly, macho-type, the casting of drop-dead gorgeous Rhodes could be considered pure Hollywood. Rhodes is great, but did the character have to be a kind of fantasy hunk -- as if Billy Batson had transformed himself into Captain Marvel?  And while kids do still, unfortunately, call each other, including straight kids, "faggot," everyone's insistence that Chiron is gay seems strange as he is not blatantly effeminate in his deportment. Of course a movie about a "queen" would have been a very different movie.

The low-key, "minimalist" approach of the movie obviously worked for a great many people, but I wonder if as the years pass, when the political climate may have changed, if Moonlight will still be held in quite such high regard. I have a feeling that people who normally wouldn't be caught dead seeing such a film, but who went because of its Oscar, have seen few if any LGBT movies and have little to compare it to.

Verdict: Not a bad movie by any means, with some lovely things in it and excellent performances, but for me a major disappointment. **1/2.

SPECTRE

SPECTRE (2015). Director: Sam Mendes.

James Bond (Daniel Craig) seems to have two adversaries in this outing. One is Ernst Stavros Blofield (Christoph Waltz of Inglorious Basterds [sic]), who is running the organization, SPECTRE, a group that links together previous villains and deaths in 007's sphere. The other is Max Denbigh or "C" (Andrew Scott), the head of the Center of National Security, who thinks M (Ralph Fiennes of Wrath of the Titans) and his methods are hopelessly out of date. M sends Bond out on an assignment that has him infiltrating a SPECTRE meeting, one of the best and most suspenseful scenes in the movie. Other characters include Marco Sciarra (Allesandro Cremona), who engages Bond in Mexico City, and the Bond women include Lucia (Monica Bellucci), the widow of an infamous criminal, and Dr. Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux), the daughter of another criminal named White (Jesper Christensen), who may have secret knowledge of SPECTRE. Craig is terrific as Bond, Waltz makes an effective Blofeld, and the other actors are good, including nice turns by Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, and Ben Whishaw as "Q." The cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema is excellent, and there's a good score by Thomas Newman, although the title tune is all but ruined by the dreadful "singing" of Sam Smith. A train fight doesn't compare to the one in From Russia with Love.

Verdict: Sinister, but not as thrilling as it ought to be, although it's not a bad 007 entry. ***.

SKYFALL

"Skyfall:" Bond's family estate in Scotland

SKYFALL (2012). Director: Sam Mendes.

MI-5 is on high alert: a computer drive with a list of undercover agents in terrorist groups has been stolen, but while attempting to get it back James Bond (Daniel Craig) is accidentally shot by a fellow agent. Bond takes his time reporting back for duty, only to discover that the info on the drive is being used to kill many other agents; even headquarters comes under attack. The mastermind behind this is a highly disgruntled former agent, Silva (Javier Bardem), who is out to take down the whole network and especially M (Judi Dench) whom he chiefly [pun intended] blames for his troubles. Skyfall is somewhere between the excellent Casino Royale and disappointing Quantum of Solace in quality. There is not nearly enough plot for a movie that is almost two and a half hours long, and Bond has been turned into a very callous and unemotional creature. At one point he does nothing to stop an assassination [we never even learn who the victim was], and seems unperturbed by the death of a woman who helped him [admittedly he takes down the bad guys immediately thereafter]; even Roger Moore would have shown more emotion during such scenes. Most incredibly, Bond simply shows up in the shower of a woman that he knows has been manhandled by men since the age of 12 [Ian Fleming's Bond may have been a lover boy but he showed women more respect.] In fact the film has a general streak of misogyny through it, and M seems especially inept; at one point the villain breaks out of confinement with such ease that it's almost laughable.

Skyfall is the name of Bond's estate in Scotland, where he takes M for a final stand against Silva and his allies. As Silva, Javier Bardem is pretty awful; he seems to be channeling his inner Joker. A scene when he questions Bond and tries to make him uncomfortable by sort of coming on to him is meant to be homoerotically hip, but instead it seems dated, a throwback to the nasty gay villain. [For the record Silva's sexual orientation is never really established.] Silva tells Bond, "there's a first time for everything," to which Bond replies "what makes you think this is my first time?" which some have interpreted as Bond being bisexual when such is not the case. In any case, the scene doesn't really work.

The film has some striking cinematography by Roger Deakens [another reason why the movie has been vastly over-praised], some exciting action sequences involving high-speed trains and the like, and has recaptured some of the romantic atmosphere and elegance of earlier Bond films. Thomas Newman's music is generally helpful. Craig and Dench are competent, and newcomers Naomie Harris [the agent, Eve, who becomes the new Miss Moneypenny], Berenice Marlohe [as the seductive Severine] make a favorable impression. Ralph Fiennes is in the running for M's job, and a nearly unrecognizable Albert Finney plays the Bond family gameskeeper and figures in the finale. Director Mendes at least keeps things moving.

Verdict: Despite its many good points, this is far from being a great 007 outing. **1/2.