Your California Privacy Rights. Barry Jenkins's first film, Medicine for Melancholy, has a similar theme to his second feature film. Some of the most impactful moments are relayed through stares. When in the first act, Littles mom, Paula, is saturated with pink light whist she yells at her son. The Photographic Inspirations Behind Moonlight, 2016's Best Picture As the second part ends and the third begins, a grown-up Chiron, now called Black, dunks himself in an ice bath yet again, as if to erase all traces of his past scared self through this ritual and be reborn again as the powerful drug lord that he has grown into. The top five things on your summer bucket list this year. Authenticity is something I think were always sort of playing with, says Laxton, when discussing their creative process. How you are depicting someone. The Atlantic Ocean is a bright blue while the scene challenges what black fathers are supposed to be. The camera is sped up and closing in on Chiron and his friend, trapping them even further. The color blue and water are the most prominent throughout. Lets consider the sequence where Juan teaches Little to swim. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. These frames provide a sense of loneliness that hes still struggling with as an adult and still permeate the visual language that we were using in story three., Thinking back to his own childhood Laxton says, I remember wearing out VHS tapes of my favorite movies as a kid and having the tracking being a mess and trying to watch movies that were faded. All rights reserved. Still from In The Mood For Love by Wong Kar-wai. Moonlight is a coming of age movie of a young African American man . Want to spend your summer being creative and making some money on the side? Maybe subconsciously we chose it for Moonlight in an effort to depict this community in a brand new light., These choices may be subtle, but their cumulative effect is why theNew York Times film critic A. O. Scott described Moonlight as a poem written in light. In this poem, there is little place for commentary. Its funny how much license you can get with some choices like that pink light, says Laxton. Both mother and son are partially broken. Its most prominent themes are love, stereotypes and identity. Lighting is used to challenge stereotypes by juxtaposing the dark things that happen to characters with bright and beautiful lights in the background. 22 Must Watch Films For Great Cinematography. Light was placed within a tree by Laxton to cast speckled obscurities on the main character as he strode underneath, generating exclusively new photographic attentiveness from the . Moonlight's cinematography hubs on the contrast between Littles's place and Juan's in this world (Aguirre, Abby). We were lighting them with a style that was more realistic than flattering and we wanted the skin tones to feel warm and not harsh. (James Laxton Creates Poetic Look). There is at least one unifying element, though: the films insistence that the humanity of every character be brought to the fore. But it allowed us to understand that shes a whole character as well., When asked about his favorite scene in the film Laxton immediately turns to the third act where the shift in style in subtle and more nuanced. During one of the film's many memorable dialogue exchanges (written by . Unlike the ugliness that was showcased with the green walls with Chiron, the blue light emphasizes this cold feeling that represents that moment in his life emotionally. Moonlight Cinematography Analysis | James Laxton - Flickside