20 Best Movies Of 2016

4. Moonlight

The Nice Guys
A24

The second feature from director Barry Jenkins is a masterful character study, showing a young black man come of age as he attempts to cope with his latent homosexuality.

Heartbreaking but smartly avoiding overt melodrama or the misery porn that tends to cling to movies of this sort, Moonlight follows protagonist Chiron through three pivotal periods of his life, played by three actors, while the audience gets to observe how he's molded and shaped by his environment.

Performances across the board are fantastic, especially Mahershala Ali as an unexpectedly wise drug dealer, and Naomie Harris as Chiron's troubled mother. Expect a slew of Oscar nominations for a deeply-felt, beautifully-shot drama that shines a light on lives that rarely get their fair due on screen.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.