Two small independent films, Loving and Moonlight, are beginning to catch on with audiences as award season begins. Both of them are worth your time. Aside from telling stories of African American characters that are all too rarely told on film, they are also works of art in their own right.
Loving is based on the true story of Mildred and Richard Loving. (I am embarrassed that I only realized during the movie where the title came from. Prior to that, I thought it was a pretty uninspired title. Of course my mind is changed now.) Mildred and Richard are an interracial couple (one white and one black) who want to get married, but the state of Virginia (as well as many other states in the USA at that time) would not allow it. It is the kind of thing that maybe even a year ago it would have blown minds that it was even as issue, but now sadly anything in the USA is possible again.
Loving, the film, does something interesting and risky. It stays quiet. It would have been easy to make a bombastic deal about the Supreme Court decision that ultimately allowed them to be married, but the film keeps it understated and unassuming just like its two main characters. Loving is ultimately not about the Supreme Court case that gave these two individuals the right to marry, it is this couple's love story, and it is beautifully told!
Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga are amazing as the Loving couple. Both deserve major award attention including Oscar nominations, but neither has a scene that screams "Give me an Oscar, or I will throw more fine china on the floor!" This is very much to director Jeff Nichol's credit for letting these quiet characters stay quiet and not acted out with a capital A. There is a nice scene with Michael Shannon as a Life photographer. The only performance that did not really fit in for me was Nick Kroll's as their ACLU attorney. He did his best, but it is hard to leave his huge comic persona at the movie theatre door.
Loving is worth your time for a beautiful love story and the reluctant hope that such a story could never happen again in the United States.
Moonlight is another story that is rarely told on film. It is about an African American male dealing with his sexuality, and his place in a world that is always pushing against him. It may be extreme for me to say that Moonlight is a revolutionary film, but I can think of no other word, and it is how I feel. The closest thing I can find to compare to what has been made here is Brokeback Mountain. Certainly, not since that film has the issue of same sex attraction in a world that does not accept it been dealt with such sensitivity and complexity. What I am about to say is going to make some people clutch their pearls, but I think Moonlight is a better film than that the excellent Brokeback Mountain.
Moonlight is so great because the way that it tells its character's stories. Three of the main characters are a drug dealer, a crack addict, and a son of a crack addict, but these characters which lean toward being stereotypical African American film characters feel more human than almost any character of any color I have seen on screen for a few years.
The acting is astonishing, but in a way that is hard to single any actor out. This film is very much an ensemble piece with great scenes for all the actors. However, if I have to single out actors I would definitely make the case for Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, and Trevante Rhodes as the adult version of the main character all deserve attention. Singer turned actor Janelle Monae is also a welcome addition to the cast.
The film is more than its performances though . It is crafted like it was made by a veteran filmmaker. Director Barry Jenkins, who is a director to watch, has an eye for great detail. His camera operators makes some interesting choices with cinematography that you would not expect in such a story driven movie. The score is also amazing, and it is wisely used sparingly to make the moments it is used even more effective.
While I have many movies to see this year, it is hard to imagine a film that will be better than Moonlight. It is also difficult to imagine that many movies will be better than Loving. These are two movies about characters that don't have their story told often enough on screen. And their stories matter.
Loving scores an 8 out of 10
And Moonlight scores a rare 10 out of 10.
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