THE MASTERPIECE
Swimming lessons for Little (Alex Hibbert), courtesy of Mahershala Ali’s Juan.
Moonlight
IN ONE OF Moonlight’s most iconic shots, Mahershala Ali’s Juan holds Alex Hibbert’s Little on the surface of the ocean, his hands gently cradling the boy’s head and legs. The water laps around the camera. The score swells. “That right there?” Juan says. “You in the middle of the world.” He is teaching Little how to swim. This film will teach you how to feel, as director Barry Jenkins gently guides you through one of the most heartbreaking, moving and beautifully executed character studies in recent cinematic memory.
Moonlight first came into being as an unproduced play, titled ‘In Moonlight, Black Boys Look Blue’ and penned by Tarell Alvin McCraney back in 2003, after his mother passed away. A semi-autobiographical piece based on McCraney’s experience growing up in Miami’s Liberty City, it was shelved — until a few years later, when fellow Liberty City kid Jenkins read it and recognised significant overlap with his own adolescence. The pair had grown up mere streets away from each other, but never crossed paths. In 2013, Jenkins was looking for his next project, having made his feature directing debut with 2009’s Medicine For Melancholy. It was Moonlight’s time.