Moonlight: Gay Autistic Kid and Gay-Friendly Drug Dealer

I've seen Moonlight, the 2016 multiple Oscar winner about a gay black man.  I didn't like it.  It mostly involved Chiron, the main character, staring at people who are talking to him.  A little action would be nice.  Plus it strained incredulity every step of the way.

There are three parts, with the main character as a boy, teenager, and man.

1. Little

Chiron, called "Little," is about 8 years old, living with his crackhead mother in a drug-infested Miami neighborhood.  Juan (Mahershala Ali), Mom's drug dealer, finds him hiding in a crackhouse and brings him home to his girlfriend, Teresa (Janelle Monae).

There is obviously something wrong with Chiron, maybe autism.  He displays no emotion, and he rarely speaks.

The other kids call him a "faggot" because of the way he walks (I didn't notice anything).  The extremely gay-positive Juan explains that "faggot" is what kids call gay people to make them feel bad about themselves.

"How do you know if you're gay?" Chiron asks.

"You just do."

Chiron has only one friend his own age -- well, not really a friend, someone who tries to talk to him:  Kevin (Jaden Piner), who teaches him how to fight so he won't get picked on.







2. Chiron

I thought there was going to be a romance between Juan and the grown-up Chiron, but no, in Part 2, Juan is absent, casually referenced as dead (no grief, no "I still miss him," just dead.  Chiron doesn't really feel emotions).

The teenage Chiron (now played by Ashton Sanders, left), still hangs out with Teresa.  He still displays no emotion and rarely speaks.  I can hear the director: "Above all, you must never smile.")

Kevin (now played by Jharrel Jerome)  still tries to talk to him, and doesn't mind that he doesn't talk back.  One night on the beach they kiss and masturbate each other. It's no big deal for Kevin; he has sex all the time, with boys and girls both. But Chiron has never done it before.

The school bully, Terel (Patrick Decille), still thinks that Chiron is gay because he wears tight pants and doesn't speak (although if I was judging gayness by feminine features, Terel would definitely win).

One day Terel talks Kevin into beating Chiron up.  In retaliation, Chiron attacks Terel, and is sent to a juvenile reformatory.

3. Black

About ten years later, the adult Chiron (now played by Trevante Rhodes) is a drug dealer living in Atlanta (don't you have to speak to sell drugs?).

Kevin (now played by Andre Holland) calls him out of nowhere and invites him down to Miami for a visit. They haven't seen each other since that day in school.

He's been in prison, too, but he has turned his life around.  He has a job in a restaurant, an apartment, and a five-year old son (who lives with his mama).

Chiron tells Kevin that he hasn't been intimate with anyone since the night they kissed and masturbated on the beach.

Ok, I don't believe that for a second.  Did you see the guy's physique?  He must get dozens of offers, in spite of never speaking or smiling. Unless his autism makes it impossible for him to make human connections. But professional drug dealers are constantly interacting with people. How could he...

And if he's gay, why doesn't he just come out?

Kevin has had a lot of partners, but he's always had a crush on Chriron.  They hug.  Apparently they are about to begin a romantic relationship. Fade out.

Stray observations:

1. There are no white people in the film.  And no reference to gay culture, gay organizations, gay anything. Did the director believe that there is no black gay community?

2. No way I believe that the super-skinny Ashton Sanders morphed into the super buffed Trevante Rhodes, I don't care how many push-ups he did in prison.

3. The title Moonlight has nothing to do with the story. It refers to black bodies looking blue in the moonlight, sort of like revealing your true self.  What's wrong with black bodies looking black?