October 19, 2016 The Skanner Page 7
Arts & Entertainment
FILM REVIEW: ‘Moonlight’ an
Artful Tale of Sexual Repression
Sandra L. Richards: The ‘Rice &
Rocks’ Interview
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
T
‘Moonlight’ tells the story of a young man’s coming of age
By Dwight Brown
NNPA Newswire Film
Critic
I
n just his second
feature ilm, “Moon-
light,” writer/director
Barry Jenkins tells a
compelling story about
sexual repression and
ambiguity through the
eyes of a vulnerable and
confused little boy, who
grows up to question his
sexual identity as a teen
and then inds a thin
measure of serenity as a
young man.
Based on Tarell Mc-
Craney’s theater piece,
“
called Chiron (Ashton
Sanders). His best friend
is still Kevin (Jharrel Je-
rome). They’ve come to a
fork in the road, taking
two opposite directions,
so they think. Chiron is a
confused gay adolescent.
Kevin is a seemingly
very straight kid with a
long list of ad hoc sexual
conquests. When Chiron
is harassed by homopho-
bic schoolmates, in the
most public and embar-
rassing ways, he reaches
a breaking point.
As the adolescent Chi-
ron becomes a twen-
ty-something
young
is more memorable be-
cause it isn’t graphic.
The camera just focuses
on a hand making circles
in the sand. It’s a poetic
moment.
Jenkins also intuitive-
ly develops the relation-
ships between the boy
and his extended family.
The scenes between Juan
and Little, two totally
disparate characters, ex-
hibit a nurturing that is
rarely depicted in ilms
focusing on innercity
life. In one scene Little
asks: “What’s a faggot?”
Juan answers: “A word
used to make gay people
feel bad.” The
relationship
between Kevin
and Chiron is
also very taste-
fully delineat-
ed. Just enough
to make audiences wish
the two could work out
their diferences.
The connection be-
tween the needy lead
character and his dys-
functional mother is
fraught with tension.
Filmmaker Barry Jenkins is an
artist. That’s evident in the visu-
ally arresting way he shot the ilm
“In Moonlight Black
Boys Look Blue,” the ilm
is set in Miami’s Liberty
City, a thriving middle
class African American
community in the ‘40s
and ‘50s that became a
lower income neighbor-
hood ater the 1960s. The
story unfolds in three
chapters, three stages
in life when emotional
and psychological devel-
opment are crucial for
anybody, especially in-
ner-city males.
Little (Alex Hibbert) is
a scrawny kid, growing
up in a neighborhood
where crime is rampant
and much of it is attached
to drugs. He has no dad.
His mom Paula (Naomie
Harris, “Skyfall,” “28
Days Later”) is a nurse
who struggles with
crack addiction. On a day
when he’s being chased
by bullies, the extreme-
ly withdrawn youngster
meets Juan (Mahershala
Ali, “Free State of Jones,”
“House of Cards”), a lo-
cal drug dealer. The two
hit it of. Juan becomes a
surrogate dad, bringing
Little home to meet his
girlfriend Teresa (sing-
er Janelle Monáe). The
couple and Little’s best
friend Kevin (Jaden Pin-
er) are the only stabiliz-
ing forces in his life.
The boy, as a teen, is
man, he is known by the
name Black (Trevante
Rhodes). He’s adapted.
He’s the alpha dog drug
lord in his neighbor-
hood. He has a calm man-
ner. A bit more assured,
yet still very internal.
He’s learned from Juan
that the he can survive,
be tough, and yet still be
humane. His relation-
ship with his mom is
estranged. Kevin is of
somewhere else. On the
outside Black looks like
a cool reserved brother,
but on the inside some-
thing is not fulilled.
Filmmaker Barry Jen-
kins is an artist. That’s
evident in the visually
arresting way he shot
the ilm with the aid of
cinematographer (James
Laxton). First, opening
scenes depict dealers on
the street being interro-
gated by their boss. The
camera swirls around
them like a bee prepar-
ing to sting. Second, Juan
takes Little to the beach
to teach him to swim.
The vision of the burly
man holding a very skin-
ny boy in his arms as he
loats him on top of the
water is reminiscent of
paintings of Jesus being
immersed in the River
Jordan by John the Bap-
tist. Third, a dalliance
Chiron has at a beach
Read the rest of this review at
TheSkanner.com
he American-born daughter of
Jamaican immigrant parents,
Sandra L. Richards is the author
of “Rice & Rocks.” She hopes that
her debut picture book will serve as
an educational resource for families
seeking to teach their children the
value of their heritage and the impor-
tance of cultural diversity.
Sandra completed both her under-
graduate and graduate studies at Seton
Hall University, and is the Executive
Director, Head of Diverse and Multi-
cultural Marketing, Wealth Manage-
ment at Morgan Stanley. Learn more
about Sandra at www.sandralrich-
ards.com.
Kam Williams: Hi Sandra. Congratu-
lations on “Rice & Rocks.”
Sandra L. Richards: Thank you so
much, I really appreciate it.
KW: What inspired you to write the
book?
SLR: The inspiration for “Rice &
SHOWTIMES
THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A
WEEK - THE TOURING YEARS
(NR)
Fri-Thur: 11:30, 6:55
FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS
(PG-13)
Fri-Thur: 11:45, 4:15
PETE’S DRAGON
(PG)
Fri-Thur: 12:15, 5:05
cutline
Rocks” came from my family in two
parts. One, my parents are from Jamai-
ca and immigrated to the USA with the
hopes to give their children a chance
of growing up with greater opportu-
nities. However, it was important to
them that we were raised with a sense
of pride of our culture and traditions,
and food was certainly at the center
See RICHARDS on page 11
The Week of
Friday, Oct. 21 through
Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016
JASON BOURNE (PG-13)
Fri: 2:30, 7:20, 9:15
DON’T THINK TWICE (R)
Fri-Thur: 2:10, 9:45
STAR TREK BEYOND (PG-13)
Fri-Thur: 2:20, 6:40
THE HOWLING (R)
Fri-Thur: 4:50, 9:55
$4.00 adults, $3.00 senior citizens (65+)
$3.00 for kids (12 & under)
7818 SE Stark St, Portland, OR 97215
503-252-1707 • AcademyTheaterPdx.com
Babysitting: Available for children 2 to 8 years old. Fri: shows after 3:30pm and before 8:00pm. Sat - Sun: all
shows before 8:00pm. $9.50 per child for the length of the movie. Call to reserve a spot, no drop ins.