By Susan Granger
Special to WestportNow
In “Moonlight,” writer/director Barry Jenkins has created an achingly affecting, incandescent coming-of-age story, covering 16 years—with three different actors playing the leading African-American character.
Growing up in a decrepit, inner-city housing project in Miami, scrawny, fatherless 10-year-old Chiron (Alex Hibbert) has been dubbed “Little” by playmates, who suspect his tendency toward homosexuality long before he knows what the term “faggot” means.
Hiding from schoolyard tormentors, silent, wide-eyed Chiron is discovered by a kindly, Cuban-born crack dealer Juan (Mahershala Ali), who offers him a meal and a place to stay for the night at the apartment he shares with his girl-friend Teresa (singer Janelle Monae).
When Juan drives Chiron home the next morning, he realizes that his mother, Paula (Naomi Harris), is a drug addict. “My momma does drugs?” Chiron asks, trying to comprehend. “And you sell drugs?”
Aided by empathetic Teresa, compassionate Juan gradually becomes vulnerable Chiron’s father-surrogate, building trust by gently teaching the emotionally guarded boy how to swim.
By the time he’s 16, Chiron’s (Ashton Sanders) awkward loneliness has become pervasive. One evening, his only friend, Kevin (Jharrel Jerome), initiates a brief sexual encounter on a beach. But the persistent bullying continues, made even painful when Kevin’s forced to participate.
Skip ahead a decade to Atlanta. Troubled Chiron (Trevante Rhodes) surfaces again, beefed up with gold ‘fronts’ on his teeth, but still grappling with his angst-riddled concept of masculinity.
So when Kevin (Andre Holland), now working as a short-order cook, calls, Chiron drives back to Miami, curious about the hand life has dealt him.
Perceptively adapting playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney’s short theater piece, “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue,” Barry Jenkins proceeds at a slow, deliberate pace, studding the screen with subtly shimmering visuals, hauntingly photographed by James Laxton.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Moonlight” is an anguished 8, shattering LGBTQ stereotypes.
“The Eagle Huntress” relates how—for 12 generations—the men of the Nurgaiv family have been eagle hunting masters, a Kazakh tradition in Western Mongolia for 2,000 years—to before Genghis Khan.
Now, shy, soft-spoken 13-year-old Aisholpan is determined to become the first female in her family included in this ancient father/son ritual.
Since an eagle can have only one master, Aisholpan must first capture hers, scrambling down a rock cliff, secured by a rope, to grab a 3-month-old golden eaglet from the nest. This young female eagle will live, train and hunt with Aisholpan for seven years—until she releases it into the wild, so nature’s cycle of life can continue.
After months of training with her supportive father, rosy-cheeked Aisholpan enters the Golden Eagle Festival, a renowned rivalry, competing against 70 Kazakh eagle hunters. Not surprisingly, the tribal elders are firmly opposed, noting “women get cold” and “women belong in the kitchen.”
Then courageous Aishopan faces her greatest challenge, an exhausting rite-of-passage, riding on horseback into the frigid Altai Mountains with her father, enduring 40-below-zero temperatures and waist-high snow drifts, to kill a fox with her eagle, proving she is, indeed, a real huntress
Executive produced and narrated by Daisy Ridley (“Star Wars”), it’s a unique coming-of-age tale. As “Angel by the Wings” by Australian pop artist Sia, assures YA audiences: “You can do anything!”
Astutely directed by Otto Bell, sharply edited and sublimely photographed, it offers an intriguing glimpse into nomadic family life in a yurt (even one with solar panels) and features decorative costumes.
In Kazakh with English subtitles, on the Granger Gauge, “The Eagle Huntress” is a stunning, soaring 7, a heroic adventure.
With a filmography that includes “Brokeback Mountain,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Life of Pi,” among others, Ang Lee is obviously an insightful director. He’s also innovative, utilizing new, high-tech technology in “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.” Problem is: this time, he stumbles.
Adapted from Ben Fountain’s 2012 novel about a 19-year-old soldier who, while participating in the sensory overload of a Destiny’s Child football halftime show, re-lives his Iraq combat experience, trying to save his commanding officer (Vin Diesel) and questioning the concept of heroism that’s been thrust upon him.
Jittery William Lynn (Joe Alwyn) and his Bravo Company are in Dallas for the 2004 Thanksgiving game, as a wannabe film producer (Chris Tucker) tries to wrangle a movie deal with the wealthy team owner (Steve Martin).
Meanwhile, Lynn’s distraught, guilt-riddled sister (Kristen Stewart) tries to talk him out of returning for another tour-of-duty. Complicating matters further, Lynn connects with a devoutly Christian cheerleader (Mackenzie Leigh).
Reminiscent of Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker,” it delves into Lynn’s survivor’s guilt and PTSD, utilizing numerous flashbacks, as part of a band-of-brothers who have been deeply scarred by emotional trauma, yet bonded by battle.
Digitally filmed in 3-D at 4K resolution and a rate of 120 frames per second, it produces clear, crisp, ultra-realistic imagery, particularly in the foreground, while the background is out-of-focus. It’s a technological marvel, but only two theaters in the United States—one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles—are equipped to accommodate this R&D advancement.
In addition, this process requires the actors to forgo make-up, revealing every line, wrinkle and artifice. Miscast Steve Martin falls victim, his superficiality exposed. But straight-out-of-drama-school British Joe Alwyn makes an impressive screen debut with a convincing Texas drawl.
On the Granger Gauge, “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” is a fumbling 5, riddled with shallow dialogue, inconsistent satire and stilted pacing.
( Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
