Alex R. Hibbert and Ashton Sanders pose with lead actor Mahershala Ali during The 22nd Annual Critics’ Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on December 11, 2016 in Santa Monica, California. The two young men are among winners of the Best Acting Ensemble for movie ‘Moonlight’.
Congratulations are definitely in order to the cast and crew of Moonlight as they scored six Golden Globe nominations right behind La La Land.
Moonlight, based the play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, chronicles the 1980’s era story of a young gay African-American man coming to terms with his sexuality. The 2016 film earned recognition for Best Motion Picture for a Drama and Best Original Screenplay. Actor Mahershala Ali was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture and actress Naomie Harris was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supported Role in a Motion Picture. The film, directed by Barry Harris, earned the director himself a nomination for Best Director and Nicholas Britell, who composed the film’s score, received a nomination for Best Original Score.
The film, divided into three parts, welcomes newcomers nine-and-ten-year old’s, Jaden Piner and Alex R. Hibbert. Hibbert, playing the part of the young main character, Chiron, is forced to parent his abusive, drug-addicted mother, while his best friend, Kevin, played by Piner, takes on the responsibility of being bodyguard as Chiron is bullied by other boys at school. Despite their newcomer statuses, Hibbert and Piner flawlessly portray their characters, setting the stage for their growing relationship to become one of the defining factors in the movie.
Twenty-year-old LA-native, Ashton Sanders, from Straight Out of Compton and The Retrieval, continues the story in the second half as the teenage Chiron, who at this point, is extremely awkward, late to puberty, and is still continually ridiculed by his peers for his mannerisms, intellect, and good grades.
Moonlight has received almost unanimous praise from critics, toughing the projects outstanding acting, direction, screenplay, score, and cinematography. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 98% and critics state that, “Moonlight uses one man’s story to offer a remarkable and brilliantly crafted look at lives too rarely seen in cinema.”
Moonlight’s full cast includes Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Janelle Monáe, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Naomie Harris and Mashershala Ali.
