Moonlight (2016)
Anthony Miraglia
Many people know the 2016 film Moonlight because of Fay Dunaway’s viral Oscars blunder, when she mistakenly announced that the winner of the 2016 Best Picture category was La La Land. Outside of this event, Moonlight was a phenomenal critical success.
Written for the screen and directed by Barry Jenkins, Moonlight tells the story of a black man struggling with his identity and sexuality while battling a life of poverty from childhood to young adulthood. The story is a slow burn but is incredibly powerful and convincing.
The film stands out thanks to incredible writing, unique cinematography and a slew of great performances, especially from Mahershala Ali.
Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Anthony Miraglia
Based on André Aciman’s 2007 novel of the same name, Luca Guadagino’s 2017 film Call Me by Your Name tells the story of a forbidden romance that develops between Elio—a student—and Oliver—his father’s research assistant. Elio and Oliver are portrayed by Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer, respectively.
On top of stellar performances from its leads, the film looks beautiful thanks to phenomenal cinematography that takes advantage of bright natural light from shooting on location. The film also has a very impactful soundtrack.
These elements come together to tell an incredibly honest and intimate story about first love that never feels too sentimental. The dialogue also works well at creating believable, empathetic characters.
Lady Bird (2017)
Anthony Miraglia
Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird is a genre-busting coming of age film from 2017 about a young rebellious artist, Lady Bird—portrayed by Saoirse Ronan—as she navigates her senior year of high school.
This film manages to be both emotionally resonant and hilarious without ever feeling tonally jarring, thanks to Gerwig’s incredible script. The film revels in focusing on the little moments of Lady Bird’s life that never feels boring or unnecessary thanks to sharp dialogue and snappy editing.
The themes and ideas explored in Lady Bird are treated in a way that is genuine and heartfelt. The film offers relatable ideas in a way that is fresh and entertaining.