88 (up from 72)

How could I have been so stupid to not consider this a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination? Rachel and I dove head first into the world of Moonlight (her first, my second) and barely made it to shore. We were shocked. We were both emotionally, physically, and mentally gone by the time Barry Jenkins closes the film with an innocent glance from our young 'Little," looking at the ocean as it crashes the sand. My original viewing was left rather cold, as a film I genuinely looked forward to seemed to disappoint me completely. Here, I'm left in a state of heartbrokenness and soul crushing realities. Moonlight isn't a film that needs its audience to be Black or from a poor neighborhood or come from an emotionally abusive home or be Gay; Moonlight's audience is fitted towards humanity as a whole. This is a film where everything matters, every glance Chiron has to Kevin. Every scream his mother throws at him. Every sneer and rude comment his peers make at him. Every chapter made to tell the "story of a lifetime," as the tagline says and it succeeds. Moonlight breaks the idea of masculinity to small pieces and in this type of society, no film is ever more important than this one right now. Besides that, this saga has some connection for any person of color, race, gender, sexuality. This is a film made to break the molds of life and Barry Jenkins and his brilliant cast have broken Society. And as those who deny it scramble to pick up the pieces, those who realize the flaws will bask in the light of Moonlight: the true "story of a lifetime."