Delicate empathy

‘Moonlight’ is deeply-felt filmmaking

Aside from a single experimental encounter on a nighttime beach, “Moonlight” isn’t about the liberation of one’s sexual longings, nor is it about their repression (though perhaps to a degree). It’s an intimate portrait of how one young man self-identifies despite the contrary cultural forces swirling around him, and the struggle to reconcile it all. It packs a quiet, vulnerable power.

For writer/director Barry Jenkins, it seems, to approach gay identity by concentrating on sexuality would be reductive. That’s the implicit takeaway of a movie that’s not pushing an agenda. It is, instead, the journey of man looking to understand himself, much more than simply express himself.

“Moonlight” is a narrative triptych about a gay African-American male from a drug-infested Miami slum, with each third focusing on one phase of life: as a boy, as a teenager, and as a young man. Jenkins eschews the melodrama common to these kinds of stories. Each chapter is gently rendered, with the contemplative patience of David Gordon Green’s early work. The first two acts explore very specific formative seasons, and the third is the result.

His name is Chiron. The first chapter, when he’s a boy, is an elegy of gay awakening and fatherless youth. Chiron’s self-identity doesn’t emerge as desires but feelings, impressions, and questions. He lives with his single mother, but an area drug boss named Juan becomes a father figure.

Juan’s interest in Chiron is genuine, heartfelt, not a predatory recruitment. Rather than being a corruptive influence on the boy, Chiron’s sense of isolation has a transformative, softening effect on Juan. The paternal care Juan extends is perhaps a subconscious act of penance toward the community he’s helped destroy. Mahershala Ali (Netflix’s “House of Cards” and “Luke Cage”) transcends his character’s archetype, in a portrayal that’s fully, beautifully, sorrowfully human. As Chiron’s mother, Naomie Harris wields a tragic arc, unrecognizable from her recent turns as Moneypenny in Daniel Craig’s Bond films. Both Ali and Harris seem destined for Oscar nods.

The second act finds Chiron as a teenager, and at a worse place. His environment has not defeated him, but he’s losing; yet he also stands resolute (if not victorious) in the face of heartbreak and betrayal. The final act isn’t necessarily an end, and doesn’t offer a clean resolution, but it is about the prospect of healing and reconciliation, and the conversations that don’t often happen but need to. 

Alex R. Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes share the role of Chiron, respectively, as the boy, the teenager, and the man. Each one movingly embodies Chiron’s existential pain born of severed relational moorings, in a collective portrayal so complete it feels unprecedented.

This is a deeply-felt piece of filmmaking, unfolding like diary entries, dramatized rather than told. Its delicate empathy draws you in, hypnotically conveyed through Nicholas Britell’s mournful score.
    Jenkins’ goals are personal, but his themes are accessible and universal. He doesn’t even seem to be considering his audience, but that lack of self-consciousness is a virtue. He’s not looking to be heard, affirmed, or applauded. 

“Moonlight” never strains to make a statement, but reveals a man (and a filmmaker) searching for peace and catharsis.

FULL CIRCLE

A brief rundown of what’s happening at the Circle Cinema

OPENING NOV. 18

Moonlight 
See above review. Rated R.

Tower
This documentary mixes archival footage with rotoscopic animation to tell the story of America’s first mass school shooting, when a sniper killed 16 people and wounded dozens of others on August 1, 1966 from the top floor of the University of Texas Tower. 

OPENING NOV. 23

Loving
The dramatic true story of a persecuted interracial couple in the late 1950s American segregated south. Jailed and eventually banished for marrying and then starting a family, this is the account of Richard and Mildred Loving’s fight for their civil rights. From director Jeff Nichols (“Mud,” “Take Shelter”).  Rated PG-13.

The Eagle Huntress
Eagle hunting is a centuries old Kazakh Mongolian tradition passed down from fathers to sons. This documentary follows the story of Aishol-pan, a 13-year old girl who looks to become the first-ever female eagle hunter, and the father who believes in her. Narrated by Daisy Ridley (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”). Rated G.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Two Spirits: Sexuality, Gender, and the Murder of Fred Martinez
A documentary that examines the murder of Fred Martinez, a Native American transgender teenager. Co-hosted by NALSA, OutLaws, and the G. William Rice Dialogue on Justice, Equity, and Inclusion, a Q&A panel with Oklahoma-based Native American LGBTQ activists and legal experts follows the screening. FREE ADMISSION (Thurs. Nov. 17, 6 p.m.)

We Are X
From the producers of the Oscar-winning “Searching For Sugar Man,” this documentary is about the world’s biggest and most successful rock band you’ve never heard of: X Japan. It’s a transcendent chronicle of the band’s exhilarating and tumultuous three decade run, capped by a reunion concert in Madison Square Garden. (Fri. Nov. 18 & Sat. Nov. 19, 10 p.m.)

Letters From Chicago
A stirring documentary about Gustav Frank, a Jew who fled Germany with his wife Lore in 1939 only to return in 1945 as an American solider. There, he discovered his entire family had been killed in the Holocaust. The film uses photos taken by Gustav that document the destruction of his beloved hometown. Berlin filmmaker Sibylle Tiedemann will be in attendance for a Q&A. (Sat. Nov. 19, at 2 p.m.)

The Searchers (1956)
A 60th Anniversary screening of John Ford’s landmark western, starring John Wayne in his most iconic and complex role. In association with the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle, Tulsa-based OFCC critics will conduct a post-screening panel discussion and Q&A with the audience. (Sun. Nov. 20, 1 p.m.)

Let Me Make You a Martyr
Shot in Tulsa and around Oklahoma, this grimy revenge thriller unfolds as two adopted siblings hatch a plot to take down their abusive crime boss father. An unrecognizable Marilyn Manson co-stars as a Native American hit man. (Sat. Nov. 26, 9:30 p.m.)

For more from Jeff, read his review of “Hacksaw Ridge.”