History Film / Moonlight2016

The Immodest Orgasm: Chiron experiences this on the beach while Kevin gives the former a handjob while the two share a kiss.

Among its many accolades, ''Moonlight'' was nominated for eight UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s, winning for [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestPicture Best Picture]], [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestActorInASupportingRole Best Supporting Actor]] (Ali), and [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestAdaptedScreenplay Best Adapted Screenplay]] (Jenkins and [=McCraney=]). Infamously, it was subject to the most notorious mix-up in the history of the ceremony, as an envelope switch resulted in ''Film/LaLaLand'' being announced as the Best Picture winner before the latter film's producer Jordan Horowitz announced the mistake. Quite a lot of coverage of the awards focused [[WorstNewsJudgementEver more on the mistake than on the film itself]], which garnered a fair amount of criticism in return.

Among its many accolades, ''Moonlight'' was nominated for eight UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s, winning for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Ali), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Jenkins and [=McCraney=]). Infamously, it was subject to the most notorious mix-up in the history of the ceremony, as an envelope switch resulted in ''Film/LaLaLand'' being announced as the Best Picture winner before the latter film's producer Jordan Horowitz announced the mistake. Quite a lot of coverage of the awards focused [[WorstNewsJudgementEver more on the mistake than on the film itself]], which garnered a fair amount of criticism in return.

* {{Homage}}: The cinematography and the visual style of this film homages Creator/WongKarWai many times. Similarly, during a scene you can hear a version of Cucurrucucu Paloma, sung by Caetano Veloso, which was previously used in Wong Kar Wai's Film/HappyTogether, and Almodovar's Film/TalkToHer, both films that touch the same topics of identity and masculinity that this movie does.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: {{Deconstructed|trope}}. After all the bullying he went through, Chiron eventually knocks Terrel down unconscious. But he is also sent to jail for the assault. There, he made contacts that ended up with him becoming a drug dealer, which certainly doesn't fit him. He just let that one action define him for the rest of his life, even if it was done out of temporary anger.

* BewareTheQuietOnes: Chiron spends most of his youth being viciously bullied by almost everyone around him for being socially withdrawn, but we see glimpses of his breaking point when Terrel repeatedly harasses him over his mom and Juan's girlfriend. [[spoiler: Chiron eventually snaps to the point he breaks a wooden chair over Terrel's head, causing him enough pain that he starts curling up on the floor, showing that he had potential for violence all along.]]

* ComingOutStory: A downplayed example as we never see Chiron truly "out" himself publicly, but the movie [[spoiler: ends with ''Chiron'' accepting himself and his love for another man]]. The downplaying of this is a huge case of TruthInTelevision for LGBT+ individuals of color, for whom the "coming out" narrative is a rarity in part due to the difficulties involved with intersecting identities, which has historically led to them being misperceived by white LGBT+ individuals as "self-hating" or as suffering from "internalized homophobia." Given this, the film acts as a vivid showcase of the additional tribulations black gay men face compared to their white counterparts and how many of their own experiences with coming to terms with their sexuality are forced into subtlety as a result of these hardships.

* KidsAreCruel: Chiron’s first scene is him being chased by a GangOfBullies, and his OnlyFriend is Kevin, who only talks to him when no one else is around. Later, even Kevin [[EtTuBrute turns on him]] [[PeerPressureMakesYouEvil at Terrel’s instigation]], and when Terrel and his friends beat Chiron down, no other students come to his defense.

* KilledOffscreen: [[spoiler: Juan dies]] between Acts I and II. The funeral is given a casual mention in the second act, averting characters mentioning it [[AsYouKnow awkwardly to tell the audience]].

* DeathGlare: Chiron has turned this into an art form as an adult; he spends most of the time glaring stonily. Subverted by the fact that in his case it's a non-threatening gesture, but a trait he inherited from his childhood. He's rather taciturn and often prefers others to lead his conversations, meaning for the most part he's awkwardly staring at the other person as they navigate the discussion. The few exceptions where this trope is almost literally applicable is during his confrontations with the middle-school bullies in the second act, and towards his Mother (and Kevin) where it's used to express dejection and/or defiance.

* DrugsAreBad: Much more nuanced than this trope is normally handled. Drugs are more portrayed as ''tragic'' than outright bad. Paula's addiction is a terrible thing, of course, but she's still ultimately portrayed sympathetically and Juan and Black are both drug dealers shown in a positive light, even though their profession is seen InUniverse as being unfortunate.

* DeathGlare: Chiron has turned this into an art form as an adult; he spends most of the time glaring stonily.

* TheyDo: [[spoiler:Chiron and Kevin rekindle their relationship.]]

Other characters include his unreliable, emotionally manipulative, crack addict mother Paula (Creator/NaomieHarris), his mother's drug dealer and Chiron's unlikely father figure Juan (Creator/MahershalaAli), Juan's girlfriend Teresa (Music/JanelleMonae), and most importantly Kevin (Jaden Piner, Creator/JharrelJerome and Creator/AndreHolland), who starts as Chiron's OnlyFriend before eventually becoming something more.

* SpiritualSuccessor: In some ways, ''Moonlight'' could be considered to do for Miami what ''Series/TheWire'' did for UsefulNotes/{{Baltimore}}, but while ''The Wire'' is a macroscopic journalist and sociologist's look at a city in its entirety, ''Moonlight'' is an intimate character study focusing mainly on one character and his closest friends and relatives. However, the two works address many of the same themes and share similar literary and artistic sensibilities, and a viewer who enjoys one may well enjoy the other.

Media frenzy aside, ''Moonlight'' is notable for several milestones related to its Best Picture Oscar win: it was the first film with an all-black cast, the first LGBTQ-themed film, the second-lowest-grossing film domestically (adjusted for inflation, behind ''Film/TheHurtLocker''), and the lowest-budget film (adjusted for inflation) to win the award. After its awards win, it eventually rose to a $28 million domestic and $65 million worldwide gross, outdrawing its budget by at least sixteen times and possibly as many as forty-three[[note]]Some sources have cited its budget as $1.5 million and others as $4 million[[/note]]).

''Moonlight'' is the first film with an all-black cast, the first LGBT-themed film, the second-lowest-grossing film domestically (adjusted for inflation, behind ''Film/TheHurtLocker''), and the lowest-budget film (adjusted for inflation) to win the Best Picture Oscar. (After its awards win, it eventually rose to a $28 million domestic and $65 million worldwide gross, outdrawing its budget by at least sixteen times and possibly as many as forty-three[[note]]some sources have cited its budget as $1.5 million and others as $4 million[[/note]]).

* AmbiguousDisorder: In all three acts, Chiron acts a bit off in a manner that does not go unnoticed by the other characters. Juan and Teresa respond by being kind and supportive, the kids at school respond by bullying him. As an adult he manages to function behind a facade of normalcy but when he sees Kevin he regresses to his awkward self.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moonlight_ver2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''[[{{Tagline}} The story of a lifetime.]]'']]

-->-- '''Adult Kevin'''

* WillTheyOrWontThey: [[spoiler: Throughout the third section Chiron and Kevin skirt around discussing their teen romance, until Chiron finally admits that he's never touched another man since Kevin. The movie ends with them silently sitting on the bed together, Kevin with his arm around Chiron's shoulder, leaving it unclear whether Kevin has actually returned Chiron's affections or is simply comforting a troubled friend. The original screenplay, however, clears this up by including the beginning of their sexual encounter that night.]]

* AdultFear: Paula suffers this in Act Three. [[spoiler:She has finally cleaned up her act and is seeking treatment for her drug addiction. The problem is that while she was an AddledAddict, her only son got arrested for fighting back at school, ended up in juvie, and is now a drug dealer. What's more, he doesn't want to see her now that he's independent. All Paula can do is apologize when they reunite at her rehab center, knowing that isn't enough to make up for what she's done to him]].

* BullyMagnet: Poor Chiron had it worse ever since he was a little kid. Though he represses his feelings of homosexuality throughout his adolescence, he still becomes a target for the bullies because of his social awkwardness, frail physique and for not being traditionally masculine. [[spoiler: It's only after Chiron stands up to one of his bullies and beats them senseless when he becomes noticeably manlier and masculine, though this is mostly just a front he uses to adapt into the harsher reality of adulthood.]]c

* DirtyCoward: Terrel spends a majority of his screen time getting his peers to help him beat up Chiron. When Chrion retaliates by breaking a chair over Terrel's head, Terrel crumples to the floor and doesn't get up. As Chiron is being forcibly led out of the room following his violent act, Terrel can be seen curling as hard as he can into a ball, presumably [[BreakTheHaughty crying in pain]].

* TimeShiftedActor: Chiron is played by Ashton Sanders, Alex Hibbert, and Trevante Rhodes, while Kevin is played by Jharrel Jerome, Jaden Pinter, and André Holland.

''Moonlight'' was one of the most acclaimed movies of 2016. Among its many accolades, it was nominated for eight UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s, winning for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Ali), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Jenkins and [=McCraney=]). Infamously, it was subject to the most notorious mix-up in the history of the ceremony, as an envelope switch resulted in ''Film/LaLaLand'' being announced as the Best Picture winner before the latter film's producer Jordan Horowitz announced the mistake. Quite a lot of coverage of the awards focused [[WorstNewsJudgementEver more on the mistake than on the film itself]], which garnered a fair amount of criticism in return.