Movie Analysis Essay on Moonlight

Introduction

Moonlight is a drama movie covering the life of a young man who brawls to find his true identity in the world. Scripted and directed by Barry Jenkins, the movie is constructed on unpublished spectacle written by Tarrell Alvin (Aguirre, Abby). The tale of Moonlight invites the viewers to trail the life of young, queer, gay, and black man, Chiron, who feels alienated from the rest of the world. Chiron's life is precisely revealed by James Laxton, cinematographer, who depicts him within a discrete pallet of wafted color photographs, which set his entire life in a stonewashed area of Miami, where the director and screenwriter Barry Jenkins was bred and raised (Aguirre, Abby). This young man's life is anchored on a semi-biographical feature portraying him as a disarmingly intimate of personal and social hardships. With every shot burned by bold cameras work and powerful lens flares, the lovers of this film are reminded that a personal narrative, sound, mise-en-scene, and cinematography of every level can aid a narrative to resonate with viewers.

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Moonlight was set in a housing project disadvantaged greatly in Liberty City, Miami. To a non-American, mainstream viewers, the mise-en-scene induces the stereotypical connotations of poverty, drugs, and crime (O'Falt, Chris). Nonetheless, the reggae message, the car engine, the laid-back sound of the sea, and the bright cool color grading automatically sabotage these expectations. Through this display, Jenkins depicts a message which is fundamental to the narrative (O'Falt, Chris). The message is that despite the ugliness and spitefulness of the movie setting, Liberty City, their lies goodness and beauty found in the individuals and nature of the city. The music becomes nutritional as black dissolves, and a Chevy pulls up at the center of the frame in the first 1 minute 10 seconds (Moonlight 2016). The Chevy is very close; we can see the pale bluebonnet, which announces the color theme of the movie. The pale blue is perhaps the reference color the screenplay is based on (O'Falt, Chris).

The blue links employed in the film as pertains to the ocean and sky have a significance in the Moonlight movie. The strong pallet in the film creates stability by linking each character to the film setting. When the Chevy pulls up, it is at the center and an eye-level signaling the movie's beginning. By bringing the action towards the camera leads to many believing that they are at the point of shot view, which automatically places them in the movie setting that implicates the narrative (O'Falt, Chris). Thus, Moonlight's mise-en-scene induces the stereotypical connotations of poverty, drugs, and crime in Liberty City.

As the movie begins in the first 0.26 seconds, the screen is black (Moonlight). All the viewers can hear it is proximate, full sound of the water in the sea. The sound feels like the waves crashing on a nearby beach. The first spur in this movie must be this sound. The sea sound is a vital setting for the story. Initially, this sound creates the impression of Miami as a tranquil paradise, that constantly juxtaposes Chiron's insightful sadness (Cooper, Michael). The contrast of Chiron indeed filters him from the rest of the characters from the audience, which depicts his inability to be pertinent to the community and his peers. Secondly, the sound of the sea becomes a place where Chiron seeks solace. It is in the sea where Juan teaches Chiron to swim. It is still in this area where Kevin and Chiron intimated. Thus, it is this sea sound that Chiron feels is safe from any trouble. Every Nigger is a Star song, which sounds as if it is washing distantly with the sea portrays a deeply rooted identity. The song, which is a 1973 reggae is intrinsic with the film's context. The song explores all the uncertainties of black people who feel isolated (Cooper, Michael). But the song offers a hopeful message that their lives are valuable, and shortly, they will find a locality that they belong to.

After the reggae song comes to an end, there is no non-diegetic scene of sound anymore. The nonexistence of score means that every sound within this diegesis can be received; for instance, the clunk and creak sound of the car door can be heard clearly (Cooper, Michael). Thus, this clear sound heightens the focus and concentration of the viewers. It also puts the viewers on edge through its tense quiet sound helped by the dog barking and crickets chirping in the distance. Therefore, most of the Moonlight watchers associate these sounds with tension. These sounds also ensure that the viewers can comprehend the dialogue in the scene, even though their main focus is somewhere else (Cooper, Michael). For instance, the viewers can faintly hear the sounds of men. Their sound volume matches exactly the distance across the pathway. As Juan nears them, their sound volume gets more explicit and louder. Therefore, the sound design in this movie creates the impression of Miami as a tranquil paradise and an association with tension (Cooper, Michael).

The cinematography also plays center stage in this film. Moonlight's cinematography hubs on the contrast between Littles's place and Juan's in this world (Aguirre, Abby). As Juan walks over to say hello to the young men, the camera slithers behind him. The expertise of cinematography in this movie is fluid. The cinematography prolonged a single shot, which advocates Juan's natural domain of effortless authority and confidence. As Juan says hello to his employees, he takes a clean look at the younger of them. The young dealer rejects the pestering junkie as he goes ahead to inspect the supply. As he does all this, the camera helixes around all these characters. The motif behind the repeated use of this camera spirals has a double meaning. First of all, the sprawling of the camera symbolizes the community, the close connection that exists between the characters who are the dealer, junkie, and the boss (Aguirre, Abby). The sprawling also symbolizes imprisonment (Aguirre, Abby). For a character such as Little, his community signifies a claustrophobic trap that persecutes him for being different. Also, in this episode, the cinematography depicts Juan as unthreatening. This perspective is represented through the camera's angles. They capture him from a low angle, following him from behind slowly and cautiously at an eye-level capture. These camera angles in the scene make the viewers a sense of safety and trustworthy (Aguirre, Abby). As the proximity of the camera is matched with the diegetic sound, the mainstream viewers feel that they are present in action as a casual or voyeur observer. The viewers feel that they are implicated all along with the action despite having no power over the episode. Nonetheless, for most American viewers who are familiar with such a setting, this type of cinematography draws an emotional connection to the event since it is relatable. The entire first episode is captured in one shot. The one-shot fully immerses the viewer into the action of the movie. Therefore, the cinematography in this movie, in terms of camera placement and lighting, helps the viewers in connecting with what is going on the screen (Aguirre, Abby). It also brings some conscious of choice to the viewer into the various conversations going on in the movie to feel as part and parcel of the dialogue between them and the characters.

Therefore, Moonlight centers on identity. Every character in this movie suffers from the connotations and expectations of their surroundings. Therefore, formal elements such as sound design, mise-en-scene, and cinematography create a personal narrative that aids resonate with the viewers.

Works Cited

Aguirre, Abby. "Moonlight's Cinematographer on Filming the Most Exquisite Movie of the Year." Vogue, 20 Dec. 2016, http://www.vogue.com/projects/13514953/moonlight-cinematographer-james-laxton/.

Cooper, Michael. "Hear How 'Moonlight' Got Its Sound: Violins, Chopped and Screwed." The New York Times, 21 Feb. 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/arts/music/moonlight-movie-score-music-oscars.html.

O'Falt, Chris. "'Moonlight' Glow: Creating the Bold Color and Contrast of Barry Jenkins' Emotional Landscape." IndieWire, 28 Oct. 2016, http://www.indiewire.com/2016/10/moonlight-cinematography-color-barry-jenkins-james-laxton-alex-bickel-1201740402/.

Moonlight. Directed by Barry Jenkins, Plan B Entertainment, October 21, 2016.