@tmdb38541732 said:

@NoVaNY-Cinematico said:

@IchiBen! said: It's a bold movie but to me it's just tedious and too much style-over-substance."

For the sake of discussion, that putdown "style-over-substance" is so over-used, it's practically become meaningless. It would be interesting to know how Moonlight demonstrates this apparently negative trait.

I would say that cinematic technique -- camera movement, camera angles, background "noise" and alas musical score -- are used to support or enhance the emotions & drama of the story. But all narrative films do this. Moonlight does this exceptionally well in my opinion without being over-bearing or "over the top."

Take for instance the close-up "portraits" (jenkins' term) quickly injected in crucial moments in the 2nd & 3rd chapters of the film. The actors' expressions in these close-ups are not actually happening on the surface of the scene, but rather they are visual manifestations of what the characters are feeling at that specific moment in the scene. So here the style / cinematic technique subtly supports the underlying emotions of the scene being presented.

Style over substance means that there is no moral to the story or message. It's just eye candy, nothing more. Turn off your brain type of film where the visuals are more important that the plot of story.

I think that Moonlight does have a lot to say about what influences the black man's sexuality. The message is subtle but there nonetheless.

Morals are for people who are used to bedtime stories and fables. Sometimes you have to figure out the message for yourself; sometimes there isn't just one message. Some of the best stories are experiential, nostalgic, and about growth. Morals are detrimental to real stories, which in turn become cliché over time.

This is a good movie and I wouldn't say it didn't deserve Best Picture. But imo Hidden Figures was a better movie.

And as much as I think Mahershala Ali is one of the finest actors of his generation, winning it for about 10 minutes of screen time and a few dozen lines of dialog is jarring. Yeah, I know actors have won the Oscar for less screen time, but still...

@Jacinto Cupboard said:

This is a good movie and I wouldn't say it didn't deserve Best Picture. But imo Hidden Figures was a better movie.

And as much as I think Mahershala Ali is one of the finest actors of his generation, winning it for about 10 minutes of screen time and a few dozen lines of dialog is jarring. Yeah, I know actors have won the Oscar for less screen time, but still...

Ali’s screen time was a little over 20 minutes:

I think it’s a beautiful performance, breathing life into what could have seemed a stock character, although I personally thought Andre Holland was the standout from the cast.

@rudely_murray said:

@Jacinto Cupboard said:

This is a good movie and I wouldn't say it didn't deserve Best Picture. But imo Hidden Figures was a better movie.

And as much as I think Mahershala Ali is one of the finest actors of his generation, winning it for about 10 minutes of screen time and a few dozen lines of dialog is jarring. Yeah, I know actors have won the Oscar for less screen time, but still...

Ali’s screen time was a little over 20 minutes:

I think it’s a beautiful performance, breathing life into what could have seemed a stock character, although I personally thought Andre Holland was the standout from the cast.

The trivia section over at imdb says it is less than 20 minutes. I'm not going to get out a stop watch and time it tho.

I agree it is a good performance. And Ali is not unique in being given an award for scant screen time.

But in a year when The Oscars were under scrutiny and there were complaints, rightly or wrongly, about tokenism, I think that win probably sends the wrong message. Especially when Hidden Figures walked away from the Oscars with nothing at all. And Ali is good in that as well. He's good in everything.