Moonlight

The Oscar's committee have a tough task this year with Best Picture. We've already seen some stiff competition and Moonlight is the latest to stake its claim for the prize.

Already spoken of in hushed terms as the front runner due to its content, I'm very happy to say that Moonlight is so much more than a reaction to the '#OscarsSoWhite' controversy of last year and stands as a contender in its own right.

Moonlight is the story of Chiron, a homosexual, Afrian-American from Miami. It tells the partial story of his life in three parts; first as a young boy, before jumping forward to school age and coming to terms with his sexuality, but suffering for it in his peer group and, finally, as an adult.

It's very difficult to speak about any of these immaculate segments without giving away plot details so I won't disclose anymore at this stage, suffice to say this is a beautifully moving, well-acted and perfectly scripted film.

It's unapologetically bleak, but better for it; characters move on, pass away and disappear from the plot without remorse as if to say; 'life moves on, this isn't unusual in these circumstances.'

Director Barry Jenkins' cinematography and direction is brilliant as well; in parts art-y without being intrusive and at times picture-perfect, he brings beauty to this rough neighbourhood.

It's comparable, in a way, to Linklater's masterpiece Boyhood, and intrinsically similar as well to this year's fantastic Manchester By The Sea; character led, deliberately slow and intricate pieces distilling the troubles life can deal in realistic, heartbreaking detail. Things are left ambiguously and you can choose yourself how Chiron's story ends.

So much more than just a so-called 'worthy' picture but, equally, a bold, daring and, in a way, revolutionary depiction of a minority of people often drawn as caricature in the media, this might just have the power to transform someone's life and embolden them to be the person they are, rather than who they are pressured into being.

5 stars *****