Moonlight

2016 Directed by Barry Jenkins

This is the story of a lifetime

The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.

Trevante Rhodes André Holland Janelle Monáe Ashton Sanders Jharrel Jerome Alex Hibbert Jaden Piner Naomie Harris Mahershala Ali Shariff Earp Duan Sanderson Herman 'Caheej' McGloun Kamal Ani-Bellow Keomi Givens Eddie Blanchard Rudi Goblen Edson Jean Patrick Decile Herveline Moncion Fransley Hyppolite Jesus Mitchell Larry Anderson Tanisha Cidel Stephon Bron Don Seward Justin Ebenhack

Alternative Titles

月亮喜欢蓝, Місячне світло, Mesečina, Or ya're'akh, Ay Isigi, Лунный свет, Menesiena, Luz de Luna, Luz de luna, Holdfény, Мiсячне сяйво, Σεληνόφως, Kuuvalgus, Lumina lunii, Anh Trang, 문라이트, მთვარის შუქი

drama

111 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Lucy ★★★★½ 159

boyhood: who are you?
moonlight: i'm you but stronger in every possible way
Review by adrianbalboa ★★★★★ 61

ashton sanders’ career should have the same momentum as timothée or lucas hedges or that fucking guy from to all the boys i’ve loved before. he should be in a new movie every year he should be offered franchises he should be on magazine covers and red carpets he was incredible in this movie and he deserves a big and successful career in hollywood thank you and good night!
Review by davidehrlich ★★★★½ 15

MOONLIGHT is *MAGNIFICENT.* a specific but utterly symphonic portrait of masculinity in the modern world. every shot is seared into my brain. it's also a devastatingly beautiful love story. to put it in the most reductive / tantalizing terms possible, think CAROL by way of Frank Ocean.
most likely the best film of 2016 so far.
Review by Joan ★★★★★ 3

i love how when the third act starts and you think "oh my god... he's so different now" then chiron gets a phone call from kevin and BOOM he's back to that boy from the first act. moonlight invented acting
Review by Mike D'Angelo ★★½ 90

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

49/100
Okay, here we go: Why I think the year's most universally acclaimed film is sorta kinda not really very good. Took a second look to be sure, both because I'm always open to the possibility that I'm wrong and because I served on a festival jury with Jenkins a couple of years ago and liked him enormously, so take no pleasure in being a contrarian here. Had exactly the same reaction, alas. In descending order of importance:
• I'm generally allergic to stories about victims.
Hence my failure to appreciate many canonical masterpieces, including Sansho the Bailiff and Au hasard Balthazar. (You're in good company, Barry!) Characters who suffer as a result of some personal failure, however minor—the Greeks' "tragic…
Review by katie ★★★★★ 4

"You’re the only man who’s ever touched me... you're the only one."
I don't understand how anyone can make it through the ending of this film without literally having their heart ripped into a thousand tiny pieces. Just as good the second time, if not better.
Review by Eli Hayes ★★★★½ 47

The hype has never, ever, ever been so real. And the best birthday present that I ever could have asked for. A marvel -- a modern masterwork of unadulterated understanding. Understanding of isolation, of idiosyncrasies; understanding of care, of compassion; understanding of darkness & disparities, of spectrums, of sexuality; understanding of memories & maliciousness, of (forced) numbness, of nostalgia; understanding of catharsis. Catharsis. The third act of this film is nothing short of the purest shaping and structuring of cathartic cinema. One of, if not the finest sophomore feature of the last half-decade. A miracle of a film... an experience which we are blessed to have exist in our current, rapturously unsympathetic reality.
Review by Karsten Runquist ★★★★★ 11

Watched it for the 7th time on the plane. Yeah this is literally one of the most important movies ever to me. From a filmmaking and personal standpoint I feel safe saying it had a significant impact on my life. Probably tied with FMF for my all time favorite. That’s cool!
Review by Matt Singer ★★★★½ 1

I'm not sure we as a society deserve a movie as empathetic and open-hearted as Moonlight right now, but I'm grateful it exists.
Review by katie ★★★★★ 4

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

The little smile that Kevin does after Chiron tells him that he's the only man he's ever been with is the only thing in the world that matters. It's perfect.
Review by Lucy ★★★★½ 6

visual poetry with the emotional depth of the fucking ocean itself. i'm fucked up
Review by Todd Gaines ★★★★½ 62

It doesn't matter who you sleep with, look like, voted for, your age, what part of the world you live in, your hairstyle, who your favorite member of Nickelback is, what type of car you drive, what music you listen to, your sex; a good movie is a good movie. You don't have to be a certain "type" of person to appreciate quality cinema. A great film should bring people closer, not rip them apart. That's what I got out of Barry Jenkins' Moonlight.
Mahershala Ali is the motherfucker, ain't he? Fuck yes! What a screen presence. The orange juice scene will stay with me for a very long time. For such a short amount of time on screen, Mr…

Recent reviews

Review by Makaila Chip ★★★★★

“This is not a joke moonlight has won best picture”
Review by dani :) ★★★★

cry count: 2. i love a good slice of life movie. and mahershala ali. i love mahershala ali.
Review by AustinHall

Empathy generator.
Review by TibbInd ★★★★★

This movie is such an important and culturally relevant piece of art.
It follows the life of a gay black man in Miami.
For some more personal stuff, I first heard of moonlight when I was in highschool in 2016 when it won an oscar. I remember being disgusted at a movie about a gay man. I was very homophobic.
Fast forward to 2020, I am openly bi and very progressive, i've changed a LOT in those 4 years. I remembered this movie out of no where, and immediately sat down to watch it.
It made me cry. It was beautiful.
I admit, I don't have any experience with the hardships that POC in america go through. and there are…
Review by sar ★★★★★ 1

i cannot believe i put off watching this masterpiece for so long. im so glad i finally watched it because literally every single minute was worth it.
this is forever going to be a favorite...the way this touched my heart was insane and everything about it was so well done and just beautiful.
Review by Elizabeth Gourde ★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

I implore you to let Moonlight seize your attention and wash over you. How dear? How precious? How seamless? The three actors selected to play Chiron at each stage of his life constituted one whole human being. I was blown away by how neatly they fit together. The love and respect Chiron felt for Juan and Theresa was translated perfectly from the first chapter to the second. Speaking of those two... Juan and Theresa are such beautiful characters and their bond with Chiron is sacred. And a round of applause for Paula, too! Wow. I could not even recognize Naomi Harris until about the third scene she was in - she was absolutely lost in that role and watching her perform…
Review by HarlanFR ★★★★★

a million times wow. jenkins and laxton are unbeatable.
didn't breathe throughout the entirety of the beach scene. water is magic.
Review by DaveDuchovny ★★★★

Movies really out here making me feel things and thinking they can get away with it smh.
Review by Charlie Morton ★★★★½

Yo Mrs. Witten-Sage stop adjusting the volume every few minutes. Yeah I know you don't want the year 9s to hear the n-word but you picked Moonlight for english like, just crank it it's a banger.
Review by Niño ★★★★½

90/100
Review by Bil ★★★★

Mahershala Ali and the others have broken my heart
Review by Thomas Hartill ★★★★★

NETFLIX
I am more and more amazed by how good this film is every time I watch it.