'Moonlight' triumphs at LA Film Critics Awards: Diverse Oscar nominee?
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
The acclaimed film 鈥淢oonlight鈥� scored more awards-season recognition when it won best picture, best director, and best supporting actor at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards.聽
鈥淢oonlight鈥� is the story of聽a Chiron, a gay, African-American man coming of age in Miami. Three actors portray Chiron as the character ages: Alex R. Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes. Costars include聽Mahershala Ali, Janelle Mon谩e, and Naomie Harris.聽
At the LAFCA Awards, 鈥淢oonlight鈥� won the best picture award, the best cinematography prize, the best director award for Barry Jenkins, and the best supporting actor prize for Mr. Ali.
The movie also won best feature at the Gotham Awards.聽
Other winners at the LAFCA Awards include Isabelle Huppert, who won the best actress award for the films 鈥淭hings to Come鈥� and 鈥淓lle鈥�; Adam Driver, who won the best actor award for 鈥淧aterson鈥�; Lily Gladstone, who won the best supporting actress prize for 鈥淐ertain Women鈥�; and Efthymis Filippou and Yorgos Lanthimos, who won the best screenplay award for the film 鈥淭he Lobster.鈥�
As for 鈥淢oonlight,鈥� Monitor film critic Peter Rainer gave the movie a B grade, writing that 鈥渢oo often 鈥榩oetic鈥� in 鈥楳oonlight鈥� becomes 鈥榩recious,鈥� 鈥� but praised the movie鈥檚 actors, writing that 鈥渇ull-out, richly layered acting need not clash with the mood, as triumphantly demonstrated by Ali, Harris, [Andr茅] Holland, and Mon谩e. There may not be a better quartet of performances in a single movie this year.鈥澛犅�
Industry watchers are seeing 鈥淢oonlight鈥� as a strong Oscars contender. If, for example, Ali is nominated for best supporting actor, the Oscar nominees will be more diverse than they were for the past two years, when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated only white actors for all the acting prizes.
Oscar nominations will be announced on Jan. 24.
