Film discussion: Moonlight

And that includes going to movies. And with Oscar nominations coming out on Tuesday morning, it means going to good movies … and talking about them.

And that, in turn, brings us to Moonlight, the movie now playing at The Music Hall that is virtually guaranteed to show up among the nominees for a Best Picture Oscar.

Moonlight is a movie about a young black man named Chiron who doesn’t get much help in growing up rough in Miami while figuring out how to deal with his sexuality. And I really don’t want to say much more than that.

Instead, I’d like to offer a selection of descriptive phrases from reviews of Moonlight, which scored a phenomenal 99 in Metacritic’s review-averaging rating system. One critic called it “a modest masterpiece and quite possibly the best film of 2016.” Another says that it’s “a thrilling, deeply necessary work,” while another commends its “ferociously restrained performances and confrontational yet tender images.” And another says it’s “both haunting and poetic,” with “startling immediacy and emotional power.” Moonlight got zero negative reviews!

Note: Critics have liked Moonlight more than the civilian reviewers on Metacritic. But given the film’s lack of a traditional structure or conventional plot, that’s not surprising. And I’ll bet that if you join us and stay for the discussion, we can find the key to how the film has captured so many committed film-lovers’ hearts.

Moonlight will show on Tuesday night in The Historic Theater and the discussion (with the customary free coffee and popcorn) will follow immediately after. I hope to see you there.

And just a quick head’s up that next week we will be discussing a completely different kettle of fish when The Music Hall shows Nocturnal Animals, a noir-ish thriller directed by Tom Ford. It will be a totally different kind of animal.

I hope to see you there.