'Moonlight': A Retrospective on Barry Jenkins' Masterpiece
Barry Jenkins' masterpiece holds up as the story of a lifetime centered on the intersection of Blackness and gay identity.

Walter Matthias Diggelmann (1927-1979) was one of Switzerland's most famous and also most controversial writers. Although his novelistic work is strongly auto-biographical, he always engaged in Swiss politics. In this movie, he says: "Although I am writer, my existence is that of a human, a contemporary, a witness, a believer, a doubter, a desperate, an accepter, a refuser, one who loves and wants to be loved, a hater, a creative, an ambitious, a good and a bad mensch". Filmmakers Walter Marti and Reni Mertens offered Diggelmann one hour of time in order to explain and to defend himself, to accuse, to apologize, to reconsider his judgments.
Barry Jenkins' masterpiece holds up as the story of a lifetime centered on the intersection of Blackness and gay identity.
Elio could be seen as fantastic piece of representation, showing lonely children who feel ostracized that they are not alone. That is, unless you look behind the curtain.
A code adopted by gay men and LGBTQ+ individuals in general to subtly disclose your identity to another, “friend of Dorothy” is widely considered to originate with Judy Garland.
Carolina Caroline follows Caroline (Samara Weaving), a bored young woman dreaming of escaping a small Texas town where nothing ever happens. When she meets Oliver (Kyle Gallner) at her workplace while he is conning the owner, she sees her perfect opportunity to get out. Their whirlwind romance strongly echoes Bonnie and Clyde, as the two quickly embark on a bank-robbing spree.
Overall, “Dark Fate” is a run-of-the-mill flick. Together, Reyes and Davis have excellent chemistry, but their characters’ story is nothing new, lacking surprise and deep emotion. During the middle points, the film drags considerably, and when the action hits, it feels consistently tight, eliminating the rhythm and fluidity of conflicts.
The plot lags, the moral lessons are misguided, but are those fluffy little donut creatures adorable? Yes. Yes, they are.