{"id":418968,"date":"2022-03-20T16:16:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-20T13:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/mahershala-ali-only-needed-20-minutes-to-win-an-oscar-for-moonlight\/"},"modified":"2022-03-20T16:16:00","modified_gmt":"2022-03-20T13:16:00","slug":"mahershala-ali-only-needed-20-minutes-to-win-an-oscar-for-moonlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mahershala-ali-only-needed-20-minutes-to-win-an-oscar-for-moonlight\/","title":{"rendered":"#Mahershala Ali Only Needed 20 Minutes to Win an Oscar for Moonlight"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3bf0879de02\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3bf0879de02\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/mahershala-ali-only-needed-20-minutes-to-win-an-oscar-for-moonlight\/#%E2%80%9CMahershala_Ali_Only_Needed_20_Minutes_to_Win_an_Oscar_for_Moonlight%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Mahershala Ali Only Needed 20 Minutes to Win an Oscar for Moonlight&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CMahershala_Ali_Only_Needed_20_Minutes_to_Win_an_Oscar_for_Moonlight%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Mahershala Ali Only Needed 20 Minutes to Win an Oscar for Moonlight&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<pre><code>     &lt;span class=\"mx-1\"&gt;Some actors need a whole movie to prove themselves Oscar worthy, but Ali did it in a fraction of the time with his deeply moving performance in Barry Jenkins\u2019 modern classic.&lt;\/span&gt;\n&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;div id=\"\"&gt;\n\n\n\n                &lt;figure class=\"sf-entry-featured-<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> \"&gt;\n            &lt;img width=\"700\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Moonlight.jpg\" class=\"articlethumb wp-post-image\" alt=\"Moonlight\"\/&gt;                                    &lt;p&gt;\n                    &lt;span class=\"sf-entry-flag sf-entry-flag-creditline\"&gt;A24&lt;\/span&gt;\n\n                        &lt;\/figure&gt;\n\n    &lt;!-- START BYLINE --&gt;\n    &lt;div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center my-4 text-center medium dark-gray\"&gt;\n        By\u00a0Jacob Trussell\u00a0\u00b7 Published on March 20th, 2022 \n        &lt;\/div&gt;\n    &lt;!-- END BYLINE --&gt;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<p><em>Acting is an art form, and behind every iconic character is an artist expressing themselves. Welcome to\u00a0The Great Performances, a bi-weekly column exploring the art behind some of cinema\u2019s best roles. In this entry, we examine the Academy Award-winning performance by\u00a0Mahershala Ali\u00a0in Moonlight.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n<p>The Academy Awards doesn\u2019t have a lot of requirements to determine whether a performance qualifies for one of their acting categories. I long believed that it depended on how many minutes they <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ear on screen. Like, if an actor is only in a movie for five minutes, they aren\u2019t eligible. But that\u2019s not the case. The <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oscars.org\/sites\/oscars\/files\/94aa_rules.pdf\">Academy\u2019s official rules<\/a> make no such restrictive distinction: \u201ca performance by an actor or actress in <em>any<\/em> role shall be eligible for nomination either for the leading role or supporting role categories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Take for instance Anthony Hopkins in <em>The Silence of the Lambs<\/em>. Despite being discussed and referred to throughout the movie, his character, Hannibal Lecter, is only <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.looper.com\/3993\/oscars-won-20-minutes-screen-time\/\">on screen for about 16 minutes<\/a> of its almost two-hour runtime. But that\u2019s all Hopkins needed to become a timeless horror icon, and win his first Best Actor Oscar at the 1991 Academy Awards.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hopkins isn\u2019t the only actor with super limited screen time who still managed to land one of Hollywood\u2019s top honors. For his Oscar-winning performance in <em>Little Miss Sunshine<\/em>, Alan Arkin is on screen for about 14 minutes, while Judi Dench won the award for <em>Shakespeare in Love<\/em> with only eight minutes of screen time. Beatrice Straight has them both beat with her five-minute Academy Award-winning performance in Sidney Lumet\u2019s <em>Network<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The most recent actor to join the ranks is <strong>Mahershala Ali<\/strong>. For only 20 minutes of screen time in the opening act of <em><strong>Moonlight<\/strong><\/em>, he was awarded the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, underlining the truth of an old Konstantin Stanislavski adage: there really are <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/actingmagazine.com\/2018\/07\/there-are-no-small-parts-only-small-actors-konstantin-stanislavski\/\">no small parts<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Moonlight<\/em> is divided into three sections, from different points in the life of the central character, Chiron (played by three different actors), whom the film follows from adolescence into adulthood. Writer-director Barry Jenkins intentionally utilizes stereotypes, including drug dealers and broken families, as a way to deconstruct the prejudices we\u2019ve historically projected onto people of color. He leans on his immensely talented cast to surface the nuances of the Black experience in a way rarely explored in film.<\/p>\n<p>With his character Juan, Ali created a vivid portrait of the complexities of Black male identity, forcing the audience to confront their own preconceived notions of who his character is underneath the regressive archetypes Jenkins is purposely playing with.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re introduced to Juan as he checks up on one of his trusted employees, Terrence, on the block where they sell drugs. As they talk, he notices Chiron duck into a dilapidated apartment to hide out from a group of bullies. As Chiron refuses to open the door for him, Juan pries off the boarded up windows and steps into the trashed room.<\/p>\n<p>At this point in the film, we can\u2019t immediately discern what Juan\u2019s intentions are for following Chiron, but as he approaches the scared kid with fatherly concern, coaxing \u2014 but not forcing \u2014 him to open up, any initial assumptions begin to wash away.<\/p>\n<p>In this paternal connection Juan makes with Chiron, and the subsequent scenes where we witness their bond grow even stronger, Ali is showing us the human underneath the cinematic stereotypes <em>Moonlight<\/em> is actively deconstructing. Just because Juan is a drug dealer doesn\u2019t make him an immoral person, even if his transgressive actions have consequences that directly impact Chiron\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<p>We see him reckon with those consequences later in the first act. As Juan talks with Terrence on their street corner, they notice a car parked down the block. Incensed that someone is using drugs so near to where they\u2019re selling, Juan approaches the car, only to be shocked to find Chiron\u2019s mother, Paula. He pulls her from the car and excoriates her over leaving Chiron at home to get high.<\/p>\n<p>Defiant, Paula asks Juan, \u201cSo, you\u2019re going to raise my son now?\u201d He explodes, yelling to her, \u201cAre <em>you<\/em> going to raise him?\u201d Only for Paula to turn the tables and scream in reply, \u201cAre <em>you<\/em> going to keep selling me rocks?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her words paralyze Juan, cutting into him like a knife as a crestfallen expression falls over Ali\u2019s face. We see in his muted anguish the realization that she\u2019s right; he\u2019s just as much to blame for Chiron\u2019s broken home as she is. But Ali plays Juan as being too disgusted with his role in upturning Chiron\u2019s life to reply. Paula\u2019s words are like a sucker punch, knocking the wind out of Juan as he struggles to find his breath. As a pained expression grows in Ali\u2019s eyes, we see Juan\u2019s silent acknowledgement of the horror his actions have inadvertently wrought.<\/p>\n<p>Juan\u2019s final scene is arguably <em>Moonlight<\/em>\u2019s most tragic, but it also showcases how keyed in Ali was to surfacing the nuances of his character. The night after Juan finds Paula on his corner, Chiron visits the man\u2019s home and quietly brings up questions he\u2019d been too afraid to ask before, like if his mother uses drugs. Juan struggles to find the right words, not wanting to tell him the truth, even though he knows he must. But as Chiron asks Juan if he sells drugs, Ali\u2019s entire energy shifts.<\/p>\n<p>Through his subtle physicality, we see Juan completely shutdown, confirming Chiron\u2019s question with a softly whispered, \u201cYeah.\u201d It\u2019s the same anguish we felt from Juan when he confronted Paula over her drug use. He knows the role he\u2019s played in destroying their lives, and the fact that he must now admit it to this innocent child breaks him. As Chiron pushes his chair from the table and silently exits the frame, the camera lingers on Ali\u2019s profile as we see tremors course through his body, cutting away just before the tears break from Juan\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n<p>As great as Mahershala Ali is in the opening act of <em>Moonlight<\/em>, he\u2019s arguably made even better by Alex R. Hibbert, who plays young Chiron. There\u2019s an old theater joke that you should never work with kids, but I believe they can make for the best scene partners. Children are naturally receptive, and as Juan speaks with Chiron, whether it\u2019s on a beachfront or around the dinner table, Hibbert simply listens to what Ali is giving him, and responds earnestly in return.<\/p>\n<p>The inherent naturalism of a great child actor like Hibbert frees up a veteran performer like Ali to not over-intellectualize his actorly choices. He\u2019s just having a conversation, and that simplicity is part of why his performance in <em>Moonlight<\/em> feels practically flawless. Because nothing he does in his 20 minutes on screen feels anything less than utterly genuine.<\/p>\n<p>Before writing this article, <em>Moonlight<\/em> had been a blind spot for me. I never doubted the substance of the film \u2014 it\u2019s a legit work of art \u2014 but I\u2019m not a moviegoer who immediately seeks out melancholy cinema. Heart-ripping <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">movies<\/a>? Absolutely love it. Heart-breaking? Not quite as much.<\/p>\n<p>So as I prepared for my first watch, rather than Googling \u201chow many feelings will <em>Moonlight<\/em> make me feel?\u201d I went to Letterboxd to find out what some friendly voices had to say. While I should have taken FSR Senior Editor Rob Hunter\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/letterboxd.com\/fakerobhunter\/film\/moonlight-2016\/\">four-star, single word review<\/a> \u201cJesus\u201d and called it a day, I kept scrolling and came across a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/letterboxd.com\/theresebelivets\/film\/moonlight-2016\/1\/\">little capsule review<\/a> from a user that said, \u201c<em>Moonlight<\/em> invented acting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That is a humorously hyperbolic statement to creatively convey how impactful the performances are, but as I\u2019ve ruminated over the film, I come to better understand the underlying point the user is comically making. Every actor in <em>Moonlight<\/em> (including Naomie Harris, who was also Oscar-nominated in the role of Paula) delivers a poignant performance that is so truthful and realistic that it practically redefines what great acting is in the 21st century.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Mahershala Ali\u2019s performance as Juan proved once again that you don\u2019t need a ton of screen time to make a profound impact on audiences. All you need is a deep appreciation for surfacing the nuances that exist within the human condition, and the dedication to honestly conveying those emotions on screen. And I don\u2019t know of a recent Oscar-winning actor more honest in his emotions than Ali is in <em>Moonlight<\/em>.<\/p>\n<pre><code>    Related Topics: The Great Performances\n    &lt;!-- AUTHOR BOX --&gt;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<div class=\"gray-bg p-4 border small mb-5\">\n<div class=\"row align-items-center text-md-center\">\n<div class=\"col-md-2\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Jacob-Headshot-2022.png\" class=\"circle img-fluid\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\"\/>\n        <\/div>\n<div class=\"col-md\">\n            Jacob Trussell is a writer based in New York City. His editorial work has been featured on the BBC, NPR, Rue Morgue Magazine, Film School Rejects, and One Perfect Shot. He&#8217;s also the author of &#8216;The Binge Watcher&#8217;s Guide to The Twilight Zone&#8217; (Riverdale Avenue Books). Available to host your next spooky public access show. Find him on Twitter here: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JE_TRUSSELL\">@JE_TRUSSELL<\/a> (He\/Him)        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<pre><code>    &lt;!-- START RECOMMENDED READING 1 --&gt;\n                                &lt;section class=\"recommended py-5\"&gt;\n            &lt;h3&gt;Recommended Reading&lt;\/h3&gt;\n\n\n        &lt;\/section&gt;\n            &lt;!-- END RECOMMENDED READING --&gt;\n\n\n\n\n&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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