Since The Academy clearly had some confusion regarding Moonlight and La La Land, I thought I'd clear things up for them in this edition of LNB Reviews. Which was the better movie? Let's get right into it...
MOONLIGHT (2016)
Moonlight is a film that lingers after the credits roll, and the lights come back on.
It's not a landmark of storytelling. It's not a particularly original screenplay. What it is, is a three-act evolution that creates one of the most vivid and memorable characters to ever grace the big screen. We know Chiron. I think we gain a deeper understanding of him than some people we "know" in our own personal lives.
Moonlight, as I teased, is a very simple story: Chiron (played by Alex R. Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes) is a quiet boy who lives in a depressed, drug-infested neighborhood in Miami, with a difficult mother named Paula (Naomie Harris) and absentee father. As a child, played with palpable vulnerability by Hibbert, he is scrawny, meek and the subject of his classmates' physical and emotional abuse.
Chiron, understandably, turns inward. He lives in a self-contained world within his own mind. He rarely lets others hear his thoughts, until he meets Juan (the Oscar-winning Mahershala Ali) a local drug dealer doing a variation on the "hooker with a heart of gold" role we've seen from Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, Jamie Lee Curtis in Trading Places or Wes Bentley (Ricky Fitts) in American Beauty. Don't judge people by their profession! We get it.
Juan steps in as a surrogate father figure. His girlfriend Teresa (Janelle Monae) also helps Chiron creep out of his shell. (Interestingly enough, Ali and Monae also starred together in Hidden Figures, which was another Best Picture nominee.) But every day is a struggle for Chiron. We wonder if he will survive the combination of his father's absence, mother's drug addiction and classmates' unrelenting abuse.
But I'd rather not spend too much time on plot. Along with Juan and Teresa, Chiron finds solace in his only friend, Kevin (played by Jaden Piner, Jharrel Jerome and Andre Holland), whose extroversion and charisma are in direct and obvious contrast to Chiron's introversion and tepidity.
This is where Moonlight shines. To borrow from Jerry Maguire, Chiron and Kevin seem to complete one another. Juan, Teresa and Paula all care for Chiron, but Kevin is the only one who truly understands him. This mental and emotional connection is handled with seamless expertise by director Barry Jenkins.
While I happen to be a fan of Ali -- I've always enjoyed his angling on House of Cards, which has apparently been canceled -- I think his performance is a bit overrated in this film. There is undeniable nuance to his work, but he's only in one-third of the movie and I'd rank all three Chirons and two of the Kevins (Jerome and Holland) over him. It's the sixth-best performance in Moonlight.
At the risk of going off on a typical Frascella tangent, for further context, I saw Manchester by the Sea, Nocturnal Animals and Lion, and I would rank Ali's performance fourth out of the five Best Supporting Actor nominees. Lucas Hedges' incredibly naturalistic performance in Manchester was a total eye-opener for me, Michael Shannon and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Golden Globe winner) were absolutely electrifying in Nocturnal, while Dev Patel annoyed me in Lion.
Jerome (as Kevin at age 16), Rhodes (as adult Chiron), Holland (as adult Kevin) and Jenkins are the stars of Moonlight. Jerome only has seven acting credits on IMDb, and I don't recognize any of the others. He's a young actor to keep an eye on. He's very charismatic and seems to possess wisdom beyond his years. Some facial expressions, mannerisms and personas just jump off the screen at you. Jerome has those unique qualities. I'm sure we'll be seeing much more of him in the near future.
Rhodes (pictured directly above) is also very interesting. He doesn't seem to be acting at all. He has 16 acting credits on IMDb, and the only titles I recognize are Westworld and The Predator. When we meet adult Chiron he's not who we expect him to be, but Rhodes slowly peels away his artificially-hardened exterior to reveal the boy we've come to know and care about. It's a fully fleshed out performance in just one, single act.
Holland steals the show. I recognized his face from Miracle at St. Anna, Bride Wars, Burn Notice and 42, but had never truly seen him perform. His work in Moonlight is incredibly detailed and reflects a hard-working, magnetic actor who is poised to break out in a major way. Rhodes and Holland give Moonlight the long-lasting effect a director dreams of.
Jerome (as Kevin at age 16), Rhodes (as adult Chiron), Holland (as adult Kevin) and Jenkins are the stars of Moonlight. Jerome only has seven acting credits on IMDb, and I don't recognize any of the others. He's a young actor to keep an eye on. He's very charismatic and seems to possess wisdom beyond his years. Some facial expressions, mannerisms and personas just jump off the screen at you. Jerome has those unique qualities. I'm sure we'll be seeing much more of him in the near future.
Rhodes (pictured directly above) is also very interesting. He doesn't seem to be acting at all. He has 16 acting credits on IMDb, and the only titles I recognize are Westworld and The Predator. When we meet adult Chiron he's not who we expect him to be, but Rhodes slowly peels away his artificially-hardened exterior to reveal the boy we've come to know and care about. It's a fully fleshed out performance in just one, single act.
While the first act comes off a bit heavy-handed, the third act of this film is truly breathtaking. Jenkins, Rhodes and Holland are completely in sync. I felt like I was watching Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant in unison, except the end of a Warriors' game doesn't make you want to cry.
In the end, Moonlight isn't one of the most unique movies I've ever seen; but to borrow from my favorite active critic A.O. "Tony" Scott of the New York Times (R.I.P. Roger Ebert), I care about Chiron the way I cared about Mason (Ellar Coltrane) in Boyhood, which is one of my favorite films of all time.
** JOHNNY FRO'S RATING: 8.5 out of 10 **
La La Land (2016)
When every frame of a movie screams AWARDS BAIT, I check out pretty quickly. Moonlight comes from a genuine place in Barry Jenkins' heart; whereas La La Land is Damien Chazelle's attempt at one-upping the awards season he had with Whiplash.
And, much to my chagrin, Chazelle's diabolical plan stuffed with disingenuous "Hollywood Magic" worked. La La Land garnered 14 Academy Award nominations -- the most of all time -- which ultimately resulted in the collection of six golden statuettes.
Thankfully, it didn't actually win Best Picture. Moonlight, Manchester by the Sea, Nocturnal Animals, Arrival and even Hidden Figures are all superior films (though the latter also screamed awards bait). The first three are FAR superior, and Nocturnal wasn't even nominated for Best Picture.
The first hour of La La Land is essentially dreadful. Ryan Gosling (as Sebastian) and Emma Stone (as Mia) displayed more genuine and appealing chemistry as Jacob and Hannah in Crazy, Stupid, Love. I could swear that Gosling seemed checked out, both mentally and emotionally. My gut feeling is that he thought La La Land was going to be a major flop.
Gosling also strikes me as an artist who prefers edgier, more challenging roles like Lars of Lars and the Real Girl, Dan Dunne in Half Nelson, Dean in Blue Valentine and/or Luke in The Place Beyond the Pines. I feel like Gosling had little interest in doing La La Land, but his agent was like, "Do you want to stay at the top of the acting world? Then do this safe musical with Emma."
Honestly, I really don't want to write that much about this film. Gosling and Stone are not singers or dancers. Stone held her own with vocals, but the musical numbers involving both leads are unspectacular and uninspiring. The whole thing was just...fake. It's crap.
Thankfully, the final 30 minutes hit some of the right notes. The central idea that careers can overpower romantic relationships is prevalent and effective. Real people struggle with that problem. It's something we can finally connect to in the audience. Sebastian and Mia have one major fight that bubbles with genuine emotion, and that sequence stands out above the rest.
La La Land is a safe movie. It's not a great movie. It's far inferior to Chazelle's breakout hit, Whiplash. I'm done writing about a musical with actors who can't sing or dance.
** JOHNNY FRO'S RATING: 5 out of 10 **
LNB's Updated Rankings:
1. Steve Jobs (9.5/10)
2. A Perfect Murder (9/10)
3. Bad Moms (9/10)
4. Moonlight (8.5/10)
5. The Revenant (8.5/10)
6. The Shallows (7.5/10)
7. The Night Before (7/10)
8. 10 Cloverfield Lane (7/10)
9. The Walk (7/10)
10. Joy (5.5/10)
11. La La Land (5/10)
12. The Program (3/10)
13. Mother's Day (2/10)
14. Rings (1.5/10)
12. The Program (3/10)
13. Mother's Day (2/10)
14. Rings (1.5/10)
Reviews to Come...
Split
Sunshine Cleaning
Zero Dark Thirty
Untraceable
The Wonder Boys
Jackie Brown
Mean Streets
Nerve
The Hateful Eight
The Seven Five
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
How to Be Single
Basquiat
Deadpool
Ratatouille
The Spectacular Now
The Visit
Loving
In Bruges
Nocturnal Animals
War Dogs
And more...
The Visit
Loving
In Bruges
Nocturnal Animals
War Dogs
And more...
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