Structure Breakdown: Moonlight

We’ve spent a lot of time talking about movies, dissecting movies and analyzing film structure to understand what makes a story work so that we can apply that to our own writing.

There’s no better place to keep going than with the Oscar-winning Best Film of 2017, Moonlight.

Barry Jenkins’ sophomore film Moonlight is a rare mainstream film about a gay black man. However, the film is not exclusively about being gay and black in a poor neighborhood. On a deeper level, the film is about the universal struggle to find human connection and realize our true selves.

LOGLINE: A chronicle of a young black man’s life from childhood to adulthood as he grows up in a rough Miami neighborhood and struggles with his own sexual identity.

THE NORMAL WORLD (ACT I):

Who is the MAIN CHARACTER?

Chiron, a taciturn, gay black male living a hard scrabble life on the streets of Liberty City.

What is the main character’s INITIAL WANT?

Chiron wants to be himself and find love in his world.

What is the INCITING INCIDENT that sets the story in motion?

Chiron is found in a vacant apartment by Juan, a drug dealer who takes him to lunch and begins to ask him questions about himself.