I am entranced by the Moonlight soundtrack and its use to develop the story of the movie. Its piano bars seem to elevate the narrative while its choice of oldies and rap help ground it. In particular, I was memorized by the song “Hello Stranger” by Barbara Lewis in the diner scene. I remember feeling an upwelling of emotion while watching the story unfold, a feeling quite indescribable. It’s hard to fathom why a song I have heard countless of times can produce such a reaction, but I’m certain the placement of the song was no a coincidence.
In an interview with Complex Magazine, director Barry Jenkins talks about using the song to invoke this indefinable feeling within his audience:
“[The] song is in the film because when I lived in San Francisco, there was this soul night that happens on Tuesdays where they would play only vinyl 45s. It was for grown folks. You’re not coming out to get crazy and drunk, you’re gonna sit down, sip a little whiskey and listen to this very chill soul. Every time that song came on, I just got this feeling, you know? It was overwhelming. And I wanted to give this feeling to the audience.”
A person growing up listening to “Hello Stranger” would also find it difficult to find a definable feeling to characterize the experience of listening to the song. The song has always been played as background music at get-togethers and kickbacks . It is logged in with collection of other soulful hits played out on stereo sets in backyards. In no time while the song is played do people stop to fathom its sorrowful lyrics. However, like Jenkins, we have stitched the song into the ambience of the experiences we feel nostalgic for.
Hearing “Hello Stranger” in Moonlight drew me into a reminiscent fervor of a time when I felt humanity at its finest. I was reminded of the many barbecues and parties shared by me with family and friends in moments of celebration and communion. We were the old and the young, the sick and the healthy, the living and the dead, all come together to honor one another and remind ourselves of our bonds, and behind all this life, the popish chores “Shoo-bop Shoo-bop, my baby” played in the background. I would characterize the essence of the song not as a feeling but as an experience that is forever locked in time.
I can imagine Jenkins feels the same way as I do. His enjoyment of “Hello Stranger” is locked into an experience that never ages and becomes water down, a moment of honesty when all egos are set aside for something more sincere –humanity at its finest.
Overlaying the diner scene with the song creates a transparent moment in which the audience finds themselves emotionally exposed. For new listeners of the song, they will be drawn to its eerie lyrics and playful backup vocals, but for us who are intimate with Lewis’s voice, we will be drawn into a shared experience, communing and acknowledging the places we’re from and the places we’ve been.
