Moonlight lives up to its reputation and then some. It builds to be incredibly moving and spectacularly artistic. The three timeframes layer upon each other, refracting and reflecting connections, without ever feeling forced, or convenient. It is a love story, in its eventuality, while being a great coming of age story.

Moonlight does not linger, nor revel in misery, but it certainly has a social realist edge, while being lyrical and artistic in execution. Barry Jenkins' stylistic choices are pitch-perfect. The woozy Wong Kar Wai touches, the sharp edits, the drifting and rushing and swirling camera work. This is masterful filmmaking.

The film is superbly acted. There is not a bad performance throughout the cast. André Holland, Janelle Monáe, Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali are all wonderful in support to the three actors playing Chiron. Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes inhabit a character, and the film plays them off each other. Taciturn, hunched, haunted; crucially soulful and meditative. It is a stunning triptych of performances.

Moonlight is wonderful. It deserves every award, every accolade. It is an all-timer. A classic. I will revisit, rewatch, rework the film. I don't doubt it will improve with time. It is a Brief Encounter. In the Mood for Love. A Brokeback Mountain.