The Toronto Film Critics Association this year chose a film that showed school violence, poverty and drug abuse and homosexual love between two black men under a poetic ambient atmosphere as the best film of the year. "Moonlight" is the second film by Barry Jenkins and is an adaptation of the play "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue" by Tarell Alvin McCraney. The TFCA posted the news in their Twitter account yesterday, Dec. 10.
"Moonlight" is a chronicle of the life of a young man named Chiron, who is played by two different actors in different stages of his life (as a young boy by Ashton Sanders and as a grown up by Trevante Rhodes). The film deals with Chiron's struggles to come into terms about manhood. He encounters a father figure in the person of a drug dealer Juan, played by Mahershala Ali, who was awarded as Best Supporting Actor by the TFCA.
"Moonlight" navigates through the bitterness, bullying and the social hardship of a boy growing up in Miami along with his coming to terms with his homosexuality. Last year the TFCA awarded "Carol" as the best picture. "Carol" is a 1950's set drama about an aspiring photographer played by Rooney Mara who develops an intimate relationship with a housewife named Carol, played by Cate Blanchett.
"Carol" was nominated for six Academy Awards afterwards. "La La Land" was this year's favorite but was not able to bag any awards. "La La Land" was able to break indie box office records by hitting $855,000 after only being released in five theaters.
Another winner along with Mahershala Ali was Adam Driver for best actor for his role as a poetic bus driver in "Paterson". "Zootopia" was lauded as Best Animated feature and Robert Eggers' "The Witch" as best First Feature.
