Barry Jenkins’ sophomore project,Moonlight, made waves upon its release in 2016. It became a record-breaking Best Picture-winner at the Oscars and later joined theSight and Soundgreatest movies of all time list. Just a few of those records include being the first LGBTQ+ movie to win the award, the first movie with an all-Black cast to win, and having the lowest budget of all the winners (when adjusted for inflation). InMoonlight’s specificity, it becomes the kind of movie that resonates with more people than something more easily perceived as universal. Speaking to theBFI, Jenkins discusses how “it’s different than in the days of Spike [Lee] because he had to shoulder the burden of the entirety of the Black experience,” and now he can, “drill down to a very finite piece.”
Usually, an indie movie of this size would find moderate success among arthouse frequenters, butMoonlight’s huge acclaim and viewership led to interest from outside the indie bubble. As a result, the movie’s slightly elliptical and enigmatic storytelling — in comparisonwith major blockbusters— could have left some viewers confused about the conclusion of the story’s arc. Whether you’re interested in understanding exactly how the movie wraps itself up, or looking to dive deeper into what it all means, here’s an explanation of exactly what happens and why.
What Happens at the End of Moonlight?
Moonlightis divided into three sections, each of which depicts a different stage of the protagonist Chiron’s life. He starts as a child nicknamed Little, who lacks parental guidance and is struggling to understand why he is picked on by other kids. When he meetsMahershala Ali’s character, Juan, he is taken under his wing and given some greater guidance than his mother is able to give. Juan teaches Little to swim, talks to him about his experience of Blackness, and answers questions about a sexuality Little doesn’t yet know he has. It’s a period of his life that has much sadness, but also self-discovery and connection with this new father figure.
Next comes Chiron’s teenage years in which he is leaning into self-discovery, both of his sexuality and his masculinity. The catalyst for both of these journeys is Kevin, a classmate who has been on the peripheries of Chiron’s life so far, but is now coming closer. Kevin is friendly with and interested in Chiron in a way that opposes with most of their other classmates. This section of the movie finds Kevin becoming Chiron’s first kiss and sexual experience and almost immediately after, Kevin is instructed to hit Chiron and he follows through. In this way, Chiron’s experiences of sexuality and violence are intertwined.
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Lastly, we see Chiron as an adult, going by the nickname “Black.” At this point, he has become a drug dealer and appears to embody a kind of masculinity that seemed so far from him in the previous sections. However, as soon as he receives an unexpected call from Kevin inviting him to visit the restaurant he works at, it’s easy to see the Chiron in him. When he reunites with Kevin they share what has happened in their lives since they last saw each other in high school, and eventually, he confesses that Kevin is the only person he’s ever been intimate with. After this, we see the two men sitting together much the same as they did on the beach where they kissed, and we are shown a flash of Little on the beach.
What Was the Point of Moonlight?
Moonlightis a beautiful,simply told coming-of-age storywith a focus on identity, or more specifically sexuality and how that intersects with masculinity. One of the movie’s greatest strengths is the way it uses three distinct sequences to build depth and momentum. Since there are different actors for each time period, it would have been easy for the movie to feel disjointed upon each change, but due to the strength of the screenplay and the performers, it’s always clear that Chiron’s old selves are still part of him.
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This aggregation of identity can interestingly be seen most strongly in the final third of the movie where it, at first, seems like Chiron has changed the most. The nickname that he uses in this section, Black, was given to him by Kevin. Although it originally made him nervous to receive this kind of affectionate gesture from another boy, it has now become so significant it has eclipsed his real name. Moreover, when Chiron tells Kevin that he’s the only man that ever touched him, it’s clear that Chiron’s anxious teenage self is still a huge part of him, despite his much tougher exterior image.
Perhaps most significantly, the final image of the whole movie is Little at the beach in the darkness. This comes just after Chiron and Kevin embrace in the same way they did as teenagers, which adds yet another layer. Through these two shots alone, all three stages of Chiron’s life are represented. In this last moment, Chiron has opened himself up to a kind of intimacy and being known that he has been afraid of his entire life but always craved. Little is finally receiving the gentle love and connection that his mother was unable to provide through this companionship with Kevin. The point ofMoonlight’s ending is to tie together each of Chiron’s stories in a conclusive and powerful moment displaying how Chiron has both changed and stayed the same.
