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Scene Map 60
# PG SLUGLINE
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Scene Map
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# PG SLUGLINE
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MOONLIGHT Written by Barry Jenkins Based on "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue"
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2 EXT. HOUSING PROJECTS - DAY - CONTINUOUS 2 Three young boys (adolescents, 12/13 years old) with sticks chasing LITTLE (similarly aged but smaller, a runt) who is running, terrified. The three boys laughing as they give chase but... this is not
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3B INT. CONDEMNED BUILDING/CRACKHOUSE - DAY - LATER 3B Little stands in the kitchen of this place, holding the aforementioned glass pipe, staring at it closely. He sets it down, starts opening cabinets and drawers, just a kid exploring, when...
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5 INT. ROYAL CASTLE - DAY 5 Juan and Little at a booth, plates of food sitting between them. JUAN So...
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6 INT/EXT. JUAN'S CAR - DAY - MOVING 6 Juan at the wheel. And on the stereo, the same song bridged from the previous scene, something old school but slowed (like Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together) chopped and screwed. Juan ad-libs with the music, crooning. Little gives him the
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9 INT. JUAN'S HOME - NIGHT 9 Juan, Teresa, Little gathered at a modest dining table, the two grown-ups watching the child going to work on what appears a delicious plate of home-cooking. Something odd about this dining room: the walls are two
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11 INT. JUAN’S HOME, SPARE BEDROOM - DAY 11 LITTLE: fast asleep, extremely close to him here, chest rising and falling with the soothing rhythms of sleep. REVERSE ANGLE: JUAN. Standing above the boy, watching him sleep.
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14 INT. PAULA'S APT - DAY - LATER 14 Paula standing as Little sits on the couch -- Paula standing above Little, hands on hips. Doesn’t speak, just looks at the boy, a bewildered look. Still in that uniform, strain at the corner of her eyes.
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15 EXT. GWEN CHERRY PARK - DAY - MOVING 15 At first, just dirt and rocks, patches of grass coming into view intermittently as we move over this landscape. A beat, then... ...the sound of heavy footfalls, twelve to fifteen boys (aged
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16 EXT. GWEN CHERRY PARK - DAY 16 Little walking alone along this side street. Kicking rocks, grabbing the branches of small trees, listless when he hears... VOICE (O.S.)
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17 EXT. GWEN CHERRY PARK - DAY 17 Kevin and Little standing before one another in this clearing, face to face, like ancient samurai before a contest. KEVIN
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18 EXT. JUAN’S HOME - DAY 18 A picnic style table on Juan’s front porch, two deck chairs haphazardly beside it. Little is sitting atop the picnic table, small bookbag tossed to the side, shirt distressed and grass-stained from
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19 EXT. MIAMI BEACH, SHORE - DAY 19 Juan and Little standing ashore, both of them pulling off their shoes, their shirts. This being Miami, both already dressed in shorts, this heat. Juan moving away, heading toward the surf. Little following,
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20 EXT. MIAMI BEACH, SHORE - DAY 20 Little and Juan sitting ashore, a towel wrapped around the boy as they watch the moon come up. The moon making its first appearance on the horizon -- SOUND of the waves running back and forth, to and from shore.
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21 EXT. PAULA'S APT - NIGHT 21 Little and Juan approach the apartment complex. JUAN So how you like swimmin’? Nothing from Little. Heard him but the words too heavy to
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24 INT/EXT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - DAY 24 Little entering the front gates of this school. No other kids around, he’s either late or early as a SCHOOL GUARD waves him through. 24A INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, DANCE ROOM - DAY 24A
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26 INT. PAULA'S APT - DAY (DUSK) 26 Little entering, stopping himself just a few feet inside as the door closes behind him. A beat of Little listening to the house, tiny ears perked just so. Glances at the far wall -- a modest television used
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29 INT/EXT. JUAN'S CAR - NIGHT - MOVING 29 Neck craned out the window, cruising the neighborhood. VOICE (O.S.) Heyyyyy, Juan! Juan barely nodding at whomever that came from, continuing on
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31 INT. PAULA’S APT - NIGHT 31 Paula and Little facing one another, Little standing at his mother’s feet. We’ve caught them in the middle of something, just after something.
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33 INT. JUAN’S HOME, DINING ROOM - DAY - LATER 33 Juan and Little sitting at the table. Again silence from the kid, everything cloistered up inside him. JUAN Alright, first things first, can't
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34 INT. HIGH SCHOOL, CLASSROOM - DAY 34 CHIRON (16) continues his staring. From just the look of him, this is clearly the Little character from moments before aged to his teens. MR. PIERCE (the biology teacher, late 20’s, black) clears his
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35 INT. HIGH SCHOOL - DAY 35 The bell’s just rung, students funneling through a cavernous hallway, approaching a set of double doors spilling onto the school driveway. In the middle of it all find Chiron, engulfed in this sea of
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37 EXT. LIBERTY SQUARE HOUSING PROJECTS - DAY 37 Chiron approaching an apartment complex (different than Little’s home in the previous story) in the twelfth stage of neglect, all chipped paint and autos up on cinderblocks out front.
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40 EXT. JUAN’S HOME - DAY 40 Chiron walking up the block, approaching Juan’s home. As he nears it, we HEAR: TERESA Well I’ll be -- Chiron?!
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42 INT. JUAN’S HOME, SPARE BEDROOM - NIGHT 42 A simple room, small twin bed and a single sitting chair. A window just beyond the bed, looking out onto the side-yard. Chiron standing over the bed, pulling the corner on a fitted sheet. From the looks of this room, no one sleeps here. From
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42A INT. JUAN’S HOME, BEDROOM - NIGHT - LATER 42A Chiron passed out, deep in sleep. A beat of this slumber, then... the SOUND of water. Sound of water falling and echoing all over, then... 43 INT. JUAN’S HOME - NIGHT 43
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44 INT. JUAN'S HOME, SPARE BEDROOM - DAY 44 Chiron waking from sleep -- in the same position as he’d been sleeping previously -- face someplace between dreariness and confusion, searching for thoughts. Looks out the window there. There’s a small clock beside the
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46 EXT. PAULA’S LIBERTY SQUARE APT - DAY 46 Paula and Chiron ascending the steps toward the second story, Paula moving ahead of him. She gets to the door first, but... moves just past it to let Chiron do the honors. Smiles at him, something disguised in
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48 INT. HIGH SCHOOL, CLASSROOM - DAY 48 Mr. Pierce at the head of a bored looking class, explaining the differences between red and white blood cells. Turns to the class: MR. PIERCE
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49 EXT. LIBERTY SQUARE HOUSING PROJECT - DAY - MOVING 49 Moving with Chiron as he makes his way down this street, alone against all this concrete, almost Western-like with his heavy backpack and sagging shoulders. As Chiron continues, notice...
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50 INT/EXT. METRO-RAIL - NIGHT - MOVING 50 Chiron asleep on Miami’s much-neglected elevated train, head leaned against its faded cloth seats as it snakes its way above and through the hardened Liberty City. From the looks of him, he’s been here awhile. From the feel
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52 EXT. MIAMI BEACH, SHORE - NIGHT 52 Chiron sitting on the shore watching the moon and the stars over the ocean. The sky is clear and yet it’s wild out, the wind whipping the reeds, ocean running waves upon the shore with verve.
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53 EXT. MIAMI BEACH, SHORE - NIGHT - LATER 53 Chiron and Kevin laughing their asses off, both high as hell, a joke or memory lost in the cut. Whatever it was, extremely funny, so funny that as the two stop laughing those gleeful smiles remain, the two of them
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54 INT/EXT. BOX CHEVY - NIGHT - MOVING 54 Chiron sits on the passenger side of this hood chariot, staring at all that passing neon and pastel of South Beach. His face is pure, open. CHIRON
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55 EXT. PAULA’S LIBERTY SQUARE APT - NIGHT 55 Kevin’s car pulled up to the curb here, Chiron already out, leaned to the passenger side window. A stilted moment, unsure how to play this. CHIRON
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59 INT. HIGH SCHOOL, CAFETERIA - DAY 59 Chiron staring up at the clock as people push past him hurrying for the lunchtime lineup. Typical high school cafeteria landscape, cool kids wedged into tables to themselves, jocks wedged into tables by
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60 INT. HIGH SCHOOL, COURTYARD - DAY - LATER 60 Lunch over, students begin to wander out of the cafeteria and into the adjacent courtyard. We’ve not seen the full of this school yet. It goes like this: upon entering the guard gate and steps aforementioned,
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60A INT. HIGH SCHOOL, PRINCIPLE’S OFFICE - DAY 60A Chiron sitting opposite PRINCIPAL WILLIAMS, 40s, serious but kind. Williams just eyes Chiron up, can since the anger simmering beneath the surface. Chiron stares at his feet, refuses to
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61 INT. PAULA’S LIBERTY SQUARE APT, BATHROOM - NIGHT 61 Chiron taking in his own image in the bathroom mirror, left side of his face bruised and swollen, that cut at his right ear clotted with blood. He runs water into the basin and, looking down into it, we
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65B INT. HIGH SCHOOL, CLASSROOM - DAY - CONTINUOUS 65B Chiron entering, moving directly to his seat, a wooden chair there. Sets his bookbag atop his desk, takes the chair, slides it from the desk and...
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69 INT/EXT. CHEVY IMPALA - DAY - MOVING 69 Hot today; hot as hell out today as Black sweats through baggy jeans and over-sized white tee. What’s more, unlike the pensive Black glimpsed recovering from a fevered dream, this one menaces through a full array
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EXT. COURTYARD, ATLANTA AGAPE REHAB CENTER - DAY Black sits in front of PAULA (40s now, hair pulled back, thinned but a light in her eyes that wasn’t there before). Paula looks down and goes into her pocket, pulls out a cigarette. Lights it, almost puts it in her mouth when she
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72 INT/EXT. CHEVY IMPALA - DAY - MOVING 72 Noise and fuzz in here, quads and subs as Black blasts something bass-heavy yet moving, think Erykah Badu Chopped and Screwed. All elbows and mean mugs as he leans at an angle, seat
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76 INT. BLACK’S APT, BEDROOM - NIGHT 76 Surprisingly, Black fast asleep, resting peacefully under the whir of a small fan. A moment of him sleeping, then... his phone comes to life, vibrating on the bedside table. Black rolls over groggily,
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77 INT. BLACK’S APT, BEDROOM - NIGHT 77 And it’s as though he never left: flat on his back above the covers, staring up into nothing, the phone there on the bedside. An extended beat of quiet here, enough to see this is a man
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78 INT. JIMMY’S EASTSIDE DINER - NIGHT - SAME 78 Simple this place, KEVIN (late 20s now) dressed in a chef’s apron behind a staging station, from the looks of the kitchen surrounding him, a diner type place, short-order cook. KEVIN
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79 INT. BLACK’S APT, BEDROOM - DAY 79 A moment of stillness: Black prone atop the covers, just his boxers and still a small sheen of sweat. From the look of him, jaw slack, lips parted just so, this has been a restful sleep.
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81 INT/EXT. CHEVY IMPALA - DAY - MOVING 81 Black in mode again: gold fronts, white tee, one hand on the wheel as he pushes through these streets. Eyes scanning the corners and alleys he’s passing, whatever’s out there getting little from him, just this glare.
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85 INT/EXT. CHEVY IMPALA - DAY - PARKED 85 Black parked at the edge of an alley, looking out at Travis standing amongst two other young men. We can’t hear what’s being said down there, the whole thing viewed from Black’s vantage.
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87 INT/EXT. CHEVY IMPALA - DAY - MOVING 87 Observing him through the front windshield of this car, the whole of it viewable from here. Just the sound of the road, no music, certainly no speaking as Black drifts along what appears to be a highway.
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88 EXT. MIAMI BEACH - NIGHT 88 A muted, wide base to the light, waves rushing onto shore under the watch of a full moon. There are children at play, a dozen at various ages, all black, 7 to 15 years old.
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90 INT. JIMMY'S EASTSIDE DINER - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS 90 And right away, the sound of music, something old, soft, and lilting (think Aretha Franklin’s One Step Ahead). Black scanning this room, his view of the place a clue for us: this is definitely the same diner we saw Kevin working in
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91 INT. JIMMY'S EASTSIDE DINER - KITCHEN 91 ...all hands and handles, a cast iron skillet going over an open flame. 92 INT. JIMMY'S EASTSIDE DINER - NIGHT - LATER 92 Black on his stool at the counter, watching through the
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93 INT. JIMMY'S EASTSIDE DINER, BOOTH - NIGHT - LATER 93 Later by the look of Black’s plate, completely empty. Black takes up his water glass of wine, a second bottle open there beside the first -- they’ve been thirsty. Kevin appears, settles in again.
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94 EXT. JIMMY'S EASTSIDE DINER - NIGHT 94 Black standing with his hands in his pockets as Kevin works at the door behind him, closing down the diner. Down the sidewalk from them, the older gentleman moves away, labored step after labored step.
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95 INT/EXT. CHEVY IMPALA - NIGHT - MOVING 95 Loud in here, part habit, part defense mechanism: little room for words with two cabinets and a sub pushing Slim K’s Purple Haze remix through these speakers. Black leaned into the driver’s side door as always, one hand
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96 EXT. MIAMI BEACH PARKING LOT - NIGHT 96 A public parking lot, open-air, twenty-four hours. Black and Kevin exiting the car, Kevin careful not to slam the door, immaculate this car. He begins across the lot but looks back -- Black is still
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97 INT. KEVIN’S APARTMENT - NIGHT 97 Black standing in the living room as Kevin moves away, disappears into another area of the apartment. Alone, Black takes the place in: simple, modest, sparsely furnished with things that seem to have been found on
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98 INT. KEVIN’S APARTMENT, BEDROOM - NIGHT 98 Black sitting at the foot of the bed, fully clothed, hands clasped between his knees, leaned over slightly. Kevin standing before him, frozen. They hold each other’s eyes an interminable beat.
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99 EXT. OCEAN - NIGHT 99 Those waves heard crashing moments earlier on full display, rushing ashore at a frothy run. Dark out, extremely dark save for the lights of beach bars a ways down the ocean front. The undulating rhythms of the

Moonlight

A young Black boy's journey of self-discovery as he navigates trauma, identity, and sexuality against the backdrop of a challenging environment.

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Overview

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Unique Selling Point

Moonlight stands out from other coming-of-age dramas through its unique narrative structure, which follows the protagonist Chiron at three pivotal stages of his life, allowing for a rich and nuanced exploration of his identity and the challenges he faces. The script's focus on the intersections of race, class, and sexuality, combined with its raw authenticity and poetic visual language, creates a deeply empathetic and immersive experience for the audience. The script's ability to balance intimate character moments with broader societal themes makes it a compelling and thought-provoking piece of storytelling that would resonate with a wide range of viewers.

AI Verdict & Suggestions

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Gemini
 Highly Recommend
GPT4
 Highly Recommend
Claude
 Recommend
Story Facts
Genres:
Drama 70% Romance 20% Crime 15% Thriller 10%

Setting: Contemporary, Miami, Florida

Themes: Resilience and the Search for Belonging, Trauma and its Impact, Mentorship and the Power of Connection, Sexuality and Identity, Mother-Son Relationship and Parental Neglect, Drug Abuse and its Consequences

Conflict & Stakes: The primary conflicts revolve around Little's struggle with his identity, the impact of his mother's addiction, and the harsh realities of street life in Miami. The stakes include Little's safety, emotional well-being, and the potential for connection and understanding in his life.

Mood: Tense yet hopeful

Standout Features:

  • Unique Hook: The exploration of a young boy's journey through the complexities of identity and family in a gritty urban setting.
  • Character Development: The profound relationship between Juan and Little, showcasing mentorship and emotional growth.
  • Cultural Reflection: The film's portrayal of Miami's diverse communities and the challenges faced by its youth.
  • Intimate Storytelling: The screenplay's focus on personal, character-driven narratives rather than traditional plot structures.

Comparable Scripts: Moonlight, The Florida Project, Precious, Boyhood, The Pursuit of Happyness, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Wire, Stand by Me, The Kite Runner

Script Level Analysis

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Overall Score: 8.75
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