The audience’s laughter during such an important moment begs the question of whether it was uncomfortable with a display of intimacy between two men being shown on screen. The beach scene is not funny - it’s the moment we see teenage Chiron (Ashton Sanders) face his sexuality and open himself up to another person. Learning that others had had similar experiences watching “Moonlight” was even more disheartening. It immediately reminded me of an almost parallel experience I had watching “Moonlight” last year, when I heard a spattering of giggles in the theater audience during the intimate scene on the beach.
Yet soon, I found myself taken out of the experience as the couple seated next to me began giggling at the subtle, tender moments that I loved so much in the first viewing. I was was sitting in the theater not too long ago watching “Call Me By Your Name” for the second time, struck yet again by the palpable sensuality evoked through the push and pull of the film’s two leads, portrayed by Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer.
