Moonlight (2016)

Mahershala Ali is only in the first chapter of Moonlight, and the movie never stops missing him. That’s the one real ache in its structure: the man who teaches Little to float in the ocean leaves a hole the film can’t fill, maybe on purpose. Barry Jenkins tells one life through three actors, and the wild thing is how well it connects. Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes share the same guarded eyes and the same way of folding into themselves, so it feels like watching one person grow up. Naomie Harris plays Paula across all three chapters, and she never hits a false note. The final chapter is so quiet and so patient that some viewers will drift, but the diner scene with André Holland is one of the most tender conversations ever put on film. The colors are deep blues and warm pinks, like Miami at dusk. A 9.3 because it says almost everything without raising its voice. $92.92 says you hear Hello Stranger once and go looking for it before the credits are done.

What works: Three actors who feel like one person, Naomie Harris’s fearless turn as Paula, and a diner scene that’s quietly devastating.

What doesn’t: Mahershala Ali leaves after the first chapter and the film feels his absence, and the slow final act will test impatient viewers.

Who it’s for: Patient viewers who love character studies where a look across a table carries more than a page of dialogue.