The movie is broken up into three chapters. I'm not sure how old he is in the first part. My guess would be preteen. He seems to be small for his age which is probably why he has been given the name Little. He is very shy. He doesn't talk a lot. He gets pushed around by other boys.
His mother has a problem with substances. Nothing seems amiss with her when she first appears but it quickly becomes clear that all is not well. Little meets Juan, a man who helps him out, lets him stay at his place with him and his girlfriend. Everything is cool between them until Little learns that Juan is a drug dealer.
Kevin is also introduced in act one. Aside from Little's mother, Kevin is the only other character who carries through all three chapters of the movie. In this chapter Kevin is just a friend who tries to help him out, get him to stand up for himself.
The second part of the movie is set a few to several years later, during high school. Chiron hasn't changed much. He is still getting pushed around by other boys. His situation hasn't changed much either, his mother looks like she is in worse shape than she was in the first chapter. Kevin become more than just a friend but then the two are pushed apart by one of the boys that bullies Chiron.
The third and final act takes place about 10 years later. Chiron is living in Atlanta, dealing drugs. He looks a lot like Juan. He is in excellent shape. His mother is doing better. He visits her in a facility. It is unclear to me if it is a minimum security prison or a home for people with substance abuse issues. He gets a call from Kevin. It has been a long time since they saw one another. Chiron's mother moved them to Atlanta after the events at the end of chapter two. Chiron goes to visit Kevin. They talk. Even though Chiron looks different he hasn't changed much on the inside.
Chiron has a ritul that (as I recall it) begins near the end of the second chapter. He cools his face in ice water. In one scene in the third act he is shown standing in front of the freezer with the door open. I don't recall any connection the face cooling portion of the ritual might have to anything else in the movie. I suppose it could be some sort of a statement about how he is numbing himself to the pain he feels.
This movie was not exactly what I expected. Honestly, I'm not sure what I expected it to be. It was powerful. It was hard to watch at times. The first two acts were for the most part very hard to watch. I was really concerned about what sort of note the movie would end on during the first two parts. It did not look good for Chiron.
What loomed large in my mind going in and is an issue throughout the movie is Chiron's sexual orientation. He is called names by other boys from an early age. It is clear that he doesn't know how to deal with that. He learns how to deal with the bullying by the third act but is still learning how to deal with and express his feelings at the end of the movie. I listened to a number of reviews when the movie was released, towards the end of 2016. I didn't have a clear memory of what they had to say other than it was an excellent movie about a gay African-American man who grew up in Miami.
The movie was beautifully shot. The use of music was quite exquisite. It does not feel like a Hollywood movie. It did not feel cliched. The ending didn't didn't resolve everything or tie it up neatly with a bow. It was a very intelligent, very moving portrayal of one boy's journey to manhood. I'm not sure that it will be everyone's cup of tea but it an excellent movie and at least worth a try.
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I thought the poster for the movie looked a bit weird. It is only now as I am finishing up this blog post that I see what it is. They have taken all three actors who play Chiron and put pieces of their faces together to make one face. It is funny how easy it can be to miss things sometimes.
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