Sunday Times Moonlight review shows the reviewer didn’t get the film

February 19, 2017 · found by

Today a Sunday Times film reviewer released her opinionated summary on Moonlight, the 8 time Oscar nominated movie about a young man’s struggle to find himself while grappling with his sexuality, and gay twitter is not impressed. Despite being a film written by a person of color featuring African-American characters, Camilla Long has opined that Moonlight is aimed at an audience that is ‘straight, white, middle class’ not the diverse community that’s found meaning in the beautiful film.

Moonlight only reached UK cinemas this week (even though the Moonlight is already available on iTunes in the US), and the individual reviews on social media agree with the critics, this is a beautiful film. Unfortunately the Sunday Times writer seems to prefer to not just pan the film but insult its message and audience calling it “a terrible wasteland of isolation and grief, punctuated by single lines of agonised dialogue.’

More than dismissing the film as ‘a wasteland’, Long has also demeaned the film’s audience, not just suggesting the film will only be seen by the white middle class, but implying that working class and BME (black & minority ethnic) people won’t even understand Moonlight’s message is utterly disrespectful.

‘Non-black, non-gay, non-working class’ film goers will end up seeing this film, and should continue to support beautiful person stories such as Moonlight, but it’s also clear the film will be seen by the audience it was made for. As with books, when we don’t see our marginalized communities reflected in films, we’re sent the message that we don’t exist. It also means others like us don’t exist, that we lack role models to aspire to.

Moonlight was never for Camilla Long, however she didn’t need to fob off the film because it didn’t speak to her. It’s not a review of the film, it’s her opinion about who she thinks the movie’s audience is, and frankly that’s a poor reflection of her.

Here are some proper reviews by good writers. The Atlantic, Variety, or (and this one really needs to be read) Hilton Als’ review for The New Yorker.

“By avoiding the overblown clichés so often used to represent black American life in film, Barry Jenkins has created something achingly alive,” The New Yorker.