Infamous Oscar-Winning Drama Needs A Better Streaming Home

I would personally argue that Moonlight is such a powerful, moving film, rich with culture and timely relevance, that it should be made accessible to all audiences, by any means necessary. While I don’t mean to insult any of the fine people working on building the streaming library for the Hulu and Cinemax brand partnership, I think we can all agree that the percentage of the population with that very specific streaming package is quite low.

I can’t pinpoint the exact reason why Moonlight isn’t streaming via more popular means such as Netflix or Max, but this stands out as an error in my eyes, which must be addressed quickly.

For those who aren’t aware, Moonlight was written and directed by Barry Jenkins, based on the semi-autobiographical story of American playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney. The film stars Trevante Rhodes in the leading role, as Chiron, an underprivileged black youth who struggles to find himself in a world that handed him nothing but hardship.

Other talented performers rounding out the cast include Naomie Harris, Alex R. Hibbert, Duan Sanderson, Janelle Monáe, Ashton Sanders, and Mahershala Ali, who won an Oscar for his performance.

The narrative of Moonlight is split into three digestible acts, each subtitled under monickers for the main character. In the first chapter, “Little,” an elementary-aged Chiron is found hiding from neighborhood bullies in a crackhouse. When a local drug dealer named Juan sees the boy, he takes him under his wing and offers him some much-needed guidance.

After Juan learns that Chiron has been neglected by his mother, who is an addict and a customer of his, a rift forms between himself and Chiron, as Juan feels personally responsible by the impact that his product has on his community.

In the second act of Moonlight, Chiron faces bullies in high school, while also facing the reality of his own burgeoning homosexuality. I won’t dive too deep into the plot details here, but the shocking developments of the second and third act will leave you reeling, as this young and tortured soul faces unbelievable hardships.

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It’s not hard to see why Moonlight reached critical acclaim, including a near-perfect 98 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is artsy but never pretentious, offering a genuine and heartfelt look into the life of an incredibly real character, with some deep insight into society as a whole. If you have access to Hulu with a Cinemax add-on, you should do yourself a favor and stream Moonlight today. Still, the film really should be re-homed to a streaming service with a broader audience appeal.