I believe this is the best movie I have ever seen. When put all together, good luck finding a better one. I have watched it 50 times, at this point, just to feel things. This movie is as close to a perfect movie as you can get. But buckle up for a feelings roller coaster.
This story tells the story of Chiron. And the story has 3 sections. Chiron as a young kid. Chiron in High School. And Chiron when he is grown up. Chiron lives in a project of Miami. He has no father figure and no siblings. Chiron is black in the projects, surviving through out the film with a mother who eventually succumbs to drugs. Who is bullied. Who is closest gay. As you can imagine, surviving this is unimaginable.
Chiron as a kid is being chased by bullies and chased into an abandoned crack house where he hides until his bullies leaves. In walks a local drug dealer with a good heart who sees this plays out. He sees the kid probably needs some food and ride home. They stop for a burger and this turns into a relationship and bond that changes Chirons life. He becomes close with both the dealer and his girlfriend played both by Marhershala Ali and Janelle Monae.
Life only gets harder as home becomes a place he’s not even welcome in his high school days, is bullied relentlessly by gang members at school for having no clothes that fit and struggling for any identity in a world that is beating him down daily. In this jungle he struggles to find love of any kind. It is hardening him. But he does find it in a couple unlikely spots. But in the end, the environment does get the best of him and breaks him.
This movie honestly makes me cry multiple times when I watch it. Still. And I like that. It makes me feel the deepest of empathy. It makes you think about young kids growing up in projects, in broken homes, bullies, being gay and confused and trying to survive alone through this. The ending is like a piece of dessert that is a 10 after having a dinner that was a 9. It is a simply beautiful ending that in my opinion wraps the bow on this emotional rollercoaster and thought provoking heart breaker perfectly. If I leave a movie having felt deep feelings to the point of tears, leaves me deep in thought after and shows me a world that I may not be personally familiar with but is all too real, that is an absolute OUTSTANDING MASTERPIECE. Not even to mention, the score in this movie, is next to perfect. The music in each scene seems to know exactly what you are feeling and just amplifies it by 10. This is not the movie to watch if you are looking for something for light, but it is a movie you should just go watch right now. I cannot say enough about how impactful of a movie this is. That is a review.