We watched this last night and it’s definitely the best movie we’ve seen all year, probably the last few years.
Viggo Mortensen was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in this movie and it’s apparent why. He completely disappears into the role, with no remnant of Aragorn, or Captain Fantastic anywhere on screen. You forget who you are even watching.
Mahershala Ali did win an Academy Award for his performance, which is reserved, powerful, intriguing, and believable all at once. I’ve only seen Ali portray villains before, and I had forgotten about my previous conception of him within the first few scenes.
The chemistry between the two actors is remarkable, and they play off each other very well throughout the movie. We found the movie to have a perfect blend of seriousness, humor, heartbreak, and triumph. The script is great, the acting superb, the directing stellar, and the music is flat out amazing.
The movie doesn’t pull punches with the overt racism of the South during that era. The pair - genius musician, and street smart bodyguard - encounter multiple dangerous situations. They save each other, both literally and figuratively, throughout the movie.
Overall I can’t praise this movie enough. It is an outstanding accomplishment, and deserved every award that it won. Check it out!
Ali is an under appreciated talent. He’s done fine but he really is a top tier actor. The way he communicated concern in Moonlight, just the way he delivered “a f***** is a word people use to make gay people feel bad.” Watching him pause and really think/lowkey express sadness as he considered the question before answering…I wasn’t even a parent then and that hit me hard.
I haven’t seen Moonlight. It sounds like it’s worth watching. Yeah?
I agree that he’s a top tier actor. I had only seen him in kind of cheesy roles before where he played kingpin type villains, so this was a refreshing change that really displays his talent.