Dr. TJ

I finally got around to watching Moonlight on Netflix and for all the hype, fantastic reviews, and Academy Awards, I have to say I expected a more engaging movie. The three actors who played Chiron did a fine job and deserve accolades, but I was disappointed by the stereotypical portrayals of almost all the other characters. The bullies who picked on the gay kid (are there no sympathetic black kids in black neighborhoods?), the drug addicted single mom, Chiron’s friend who wouldn’t stand up to the bullies and beat him up, and even the man of the couple who were nice to Chiron who was a drug dealer. All of these characters were stereotypes from poor black neighborhoods and I could not connect with them. I’m a very strong believer in making your own way in life and if you aren’t happy with the circumstances you were born into, then change them. I had trouble making an emotional connection to the characters because they didn’t do anything to change their circumstances. In fact, I found Hidden Figures a much more engaging and entertaining movie because those characters did everything they could by using their brains to change their circumstances and improve their lives. I wish I could have connected to the characters and story of Moonlight more emotionally, but the characters and story did not move me very much. It could be because I’m neither black, nor gay, nor poor, nor drug addicted, and I’ve always been determined to get out of bad circumstances. In my opinion, Moonlight is a good movie, it’s just not a great one.