Moonlight

[quote] So I watched it a few times, and I don't think it's a "gay" movie, or a movie about two "DL" guys at all!

So, what's a "gay" movie?

Troll.

[quote]I don't think it's a "gay" movie

Chiron transitioned in the sequel, “Moonlight II: New Moon”.

Gay themed, R1.

Get a fucking grip, you reactionary CUNT.

[quote] Gay themed,

Why didn't you say that instead of "gay?"

Troll.

[quote]So, what's a "gay" movie?

No such thing because “gay” isn’t real.

Muriel, he's in here.

And the Academy Award.... for best picture.....

LALA LAND!!

Great film.

I liked it but I wish that there were more sex scenes in it. It was well acted, but it felt neutered.

[quote] It was well acted, but it felt neutered.

I think that was kind of the point.

It felt neutered because it wasn't about them being gay or on the DL.

Chiron was just looking for intimacy with someone because of the bad relationship with his mother.

The ending scene pretty much confirmed it.

That said, Chiron drove me fucking crazy. I cannot handle people who say two or three words at a time.

I disagree. I don’t need explicit sex. That’s like dumb heteros who will sit through a two hour shitfest to see some chick’s boobs. If you want porn, watch porn.

Hello Stranger

Whatever it was gay or not is immaterial. The movie sucked.

And the winner is... LALA LAND!

OP, you might as well have said that Brokeback Mountain was a 20-year long booty call. You'll garner no support here.

J'adore this movie. How could one not like it?

I love finely crafted gay films. Most “gay films” are just what a lot of gays want: nothin but gratuitous nudity and sex scenes. There’s something for everyone out there.

This was a beautiful movie and we need more LGB Black films. There's another great film called "Pariah" about a young Black butch lesbian living in the hood and discovering her sexuality and getting into conflict with her religious conservative mother. Dee Rees, the director also directed Mudbound.

I’ll check it out. Any other good gay film recommendations are appreciated. My favorite is Weekend.

The diner scene at the end of this movie is so, so perfect. Some of the best acted and executed cinema EVER.

r9 I think as a gay man watching, that scene builds so much sexual tension. Jacked Chiron gazing affectionately at his first love, like a man who has been in the desert for days about to have his first drink of water.

Lesbian icon Janelle Monae did such a great job in this film too.

Agreed R20. I loved that scene. I even bought the LP to the soundtrack. It’s blue vinyl.

All I know is that grown up Chiron is hot as fuck!!

Chiron is definitely gay and very, very hurt.

The kid who played teenaged Chiron, could be a model.

He's gorgeous.

His name is Ashton Sanders.

I'm thinking he's gay.

Ashton was in the Equalizer 2 with Denzel, also great in that

Chiron wasn't gay, I tell you. He was just shy!

That ending. The shot of Chiron and Kevin. One of the most beautiful endings in cinema.

[quote] That ending. The shot of Chiron and Kevin. One of the most beautiful endings in cinema.

And the winner is..... LA LA LAND!!!

I wonder which of the 2 (MOONLIGHT or LA LA LAND) will be better remembered/more highly regarded in years to come.

I liked them both very much.

It was a near perfect movie for me, 'cept for one thing: "Hello Stranger"....

Song choices are SO important. Why that song? It was a hit in 1963. Those boys grew up in the mid-70s. They had no connection to that song. It wasn't played at any point in the soundtrack until the diner scene. It just made no sense to me. An Al Green or Marvin Gaye song would have made more sense.

I speculate that Barry Jenkins must have wanted another song, then lost the rights at the very last minute. Hello Stranger has a fairly low residuals price because it has been used in so many tv shows and movies.

It just does not belong there!

Check this out

I totally disagree, R32.

The song set a perfect mood for Kevin and Chiron, especially since they had not seen each other in years.

It was so romantic.

r34 I agree the scene is extremely romantic, that's a credit to great acting and directing. But I also think the song should've been different.

It was common to have oldies on jukeboxes, still is if you can find one. The song is perfect IMO.

Agreed, not a stretch at all--that's exactly the sort of song you'd find on the jukebox of the urban diner where I worked my way through college back in the 80s.

The movie is beautiful, Chiron's story so heavy and realistic. Only the end is a bit prudish, I expect the director wanted to make it different and out of usual, but after all the sexual and romantic tension in the diner, which was beautifully played by two leads, it ended a bit like two girls comforting each other. Although it was tender, but after ten years of waiting, would the first thing Chiron does be to put his head on Kevin's shoulder?

Oh thank GOD it’s not a “gay” movie. I’m so relieved, OP.

[quote] I liked it but I wish that there were more sex scenes in it. It was well acted, but it felt neutered.

A love scene between Trevante Rhodes and Andre Holland would have made this a CLASSIC. I was so let down by the ending of this movie.

My God, Chiron was eating the Cook in the diner with his eyes the whole evening. Of course, he was so afraid an insecure, but after he kind of revealed his feelings and wasn't rejected wouldn't he be more daring. Of course, they wanted a poetic ending and the director acknowledged the influence of Wong Kar Wai, but some lovemaking can also be poetic too.

The tension.

R40, I think the last half hour of the film was a love scene between Trevante Rhodes and Andre Holland

Would the film have been better if the screenwriter/director had been gay?

At least one if not both of the actors in the last scene was straight. Would gay men have played it differently?

r44, Writer Tarell Alvin McCraney is gay. Director Barry Jenkins is not.

R44, McCraney did not write the screenplay. Jenkins wrote it. (It is based on a unpublished, unproduced play by McCraney.)

I thought Andre Holland and Trevante Rhodes were both fantastic. They were more deserving of Oscar recognition than Mahershala Ali imo.

R47 They are great, particularly Trevante. Such vulnerability and acting with his eyes.

Too bad the director was a bit prudish, but film was beautiful.

How did Mahershala Ali get all the awards. Best publicist?

I don't even think he's the best performer in the film.

watching that clip at r42 makes me want to see the whole movie again.

This was so beautifully filmed, particularly the scenes involving the ocean, they took my breath away.

Emma Stone was so good in this.

Marco Berger, our fave director of subtle Argentinian gay sexual tension (Plan B, Hawaii, Taekwondo, The Blond One) is a fan. I agree with him that Moonlight is a perfect movie. Lots of similarities in style and story with his movies.

The cafe scene is just beautiful. Starting with the Aretha Franklin song. I think it's sad that so few gay movies can be called truly great. Most skew towards melodramatic campiness and soap plots.

The Aretha song

They're saying the cinema age is coming to an end as people turn to streaming and the long-form of multi-episodic TV and turn away from the dissatisfying two-hour format of movies. That'll make Moonlight one of the last true classics of cinema. The movie industry is going the way of VHS.

They finished that museum just in time.

I live on homophobic Balkans, but I think Black gay men have even tougher time than us. I never knew until I read some comments on social media, not only about this film, but about Kid Cudi wearing dress, about Lil Nas X and about the life of men on Down low. It seems to me is like the Black community feels betrayed and humiliated by Black men who are less then hetero and hypermasculine. The crazy comments from black guys about emasculating Black men as a unity, angry black girls feeling betrayed. A lot of emotional pressure. Like you let the society down, damaged the whole community, same as your family might react here. Feels worse than being just called a faggot and despised.

Which makes it even more remarkable that Black gay men are part of the biggest, landmark battles in the fight for equality. Michael Sam was the first openly gay player in the NFL. Lil Nax X and Frank Ocean came out at the height of their fame in the very homophobic genre of hip-hop ( for perspective, there are still no white equivalents who've dared to challenge the dominant homophobic cultures in Nascar or country music), Moonlight is the first gay-themed movie to win the Academy Award for best picture ... and so many other examples like these. Someone mentioned on another thread that the first gay male active sports superstar to come out will not be Aaron Rodgers but a Black man. Bu you wouldn't know it from the racism Black gay men experience within the gay community

I have great respect for Lil Nas X. He really has the balls and is very bright in communication on social media. And to think he is just a kid.

If this had been a movie with a white cast, they would've turned it into a tragedy of loss because gays are not allowed happy endings.

The supporting cast of this movie was also fantastic. Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monae and, especially, Naomi Harris.

The red tag really ruins this thread for me.

Just rewatched. Still holds up. A true modern classic.

R58 I do trust you about the racism, even though it is covered these days.