A lady once told me in Orlando. Good ole Uncle Walt. He bought a piece of swamp in Florida and turned it into a tourist magnet. He must have done a deal with the devil as well. Disney World is the only bit round here that has never been directly hit by a hurricane.
The Florida Project is set on the outskirts of Disney. Motels with long term residents who are way down the socio economic scale. Living in the margins of society when others around the world see it as a dream Disney destination.
Moonee, Scooty and Dicky spend the summer very much left on their own devices causing mischief and mayhem with their wild behaviour. Other kids descend to Orlando to visit the theme parks. These kids make their own adventure as going to Magic Kingdom is not an option for them.
They are joined by Jancey who has moved into the neighbouring motel with her grandmother.
Mooney's mum Halley is an exotic dancer who after losing her job becomes an online sex worker. Halley would do anything to survive, selling knock off perfume in car parks to scalping park tickets. Halley would even literally fight for survival and at the end she is is at risk of losing Moonee to social services.
Only Bobby (Willem Dafoe) the manager of the motel is protective of the kids knowing the grown ups are having a hard time to make ends meet.
Director Sean Baker has made a low budget independent slice of life film. In the absence of Dafoe's casting you would think this was a drama documentary. Baker has coaxed astonishing performances from his young cast. It actually made me think how he managed to get such naturalistic acting from the kids.
The film does not have much of a plot and it is still better than many routine films pumped out by Hollywood. It is about the kids living aimlessly who get into constant trouble. There is a scene where Bobby spots trouble and confronts a dirty old man. However Halley's deteriorating issues begin to take a toll on her and Moonee.
There is an element of magical realism with the ending. I had no issue with it and whether it was literal, figurative or metaphorical.
The Florida Project
2017
Action / Drama
The Florida Project
2017
Action / Drama
96% - Critics
80% - Audience
7.6Keywords: friendshipparent child relationshipmother daughter relationshipdrug addictionflorida
Plot summary
Halley lives with her six year old daughter Moonee in a budget motel along one of the commercial strips catering to the Walt Disney World tourist clientele outside Orlando, Florida. Halley, who survives largely on welfare, has little respect for people, especially those who cross her, it an attitude that she has passed down to Moonee, who curses and gives the finger like her mother. Although the motel's policy is not to allow long term rentals, Bobby, the motel manager, has made arrangements for people like Halley to live there while not undermining the policy as he realizes that many such tenants have no place to go otherwise. Halley, Moonee and Moonee's friends, who live in the motel or others like it along the strip and who she often drags into her disruptive pranks, are often the bane of Bobby's existence, but while dealing with whatever problem arises, Bobby has a soft spot especially for the children and thus, by association, their parents, as he knows that Moonee and others like her are just children acting like a children under whatever guidance they have, Moonee who has less guidance than most. Although there are some lines which he will not tolerate to be crossed, Bobby lets most of the disruptive things that they do go, largely as long as it does not affect the bread and butter of the motel, namely the tourist trade. The summer in this collective is presented, when Moonee and her friends, such as Scooty, are out of school and are left largely to their own devices while self-absorbed Halley does whatever she wants, often just staying in the room watching TV. Halley is supposed to look after Scooty, the son of Halley's friend Ashley, they who live in the unit immediately underneath Halley and Moonee's, while Ashley is at work at a local diner. In turn, Ashley pilfers cooked meals from the diner to feed Halley, Moonee and Scooty. Over the course of the summer, Halley systematically begins to alienate one by one the people who are her unofficial support by responding with that disrespect to anything she feels is against her. As such, Halley begins to take more and more extreme measures to maintain the life she leads with Moonee.
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The Florida Project
This kingdom has enough magic to make one want to visit, if not quite stay
Having seen Sean Baker's previous films 'Starlet' (2012) and 'Tangerine' (2015) in preparation for seeing 'The Florida Project', there were high expectations seeing as both of those films, while not quite perfect, were very good indeed.
The same also goes for 'The Florida Project', after seeing it and not being let down, being more or less what was expected. Not quite one of my very favourite films of 2017 (although actually it very nearly was),but as far as a wildly inconsistent year for film goes to me it's in the better half. It is hard to say which is my favourite or least favourite of 'Starlet', 'Tangerine' and 'The Florida Project', because they are as good as each other and are very good films in their own way. They have the same strengths pretty much and have very little wrong, at the same time it is very easy to see why they haven't connected with everybody.
Perfect 'The Florida Project' isn't. Some of the tonal shifts feel a bit forced and abrupt and, although the final act in general is emotionally intense, count me in as another person who was underwhelmed by the ending, which for my liking felt tacked on, tonally jarring and strains credulity too much.
On the other hand, 'The Florida Project' has a lot to like. While not as visually unique as 'Tangerine', it's a good-looking film that manages to make a less than attractive setting actually visually appealing somehow. Like with 'Starlet', while it may take some getting used to for some, the sunny and slightly bleached colours and slightly (but deliberately so) off-kilter but very naturalistic filming (that's very evocative and not amateurish like it can be easily mistaken as) was very striking. Appreciated the subtlety of the music, instead of having constant bombast which would have been wrong here.
Like 'Starlet' and 'Tangerine', the writing shines once again. Standouts include the ominous tension between the child and adult worlds and the emotional intensity of the final act, that would have resonated even more if having the very ending scene in keeping with the rest of the film. There is a healthy balance of amusing humour, joyous wonder, charming warmth, understated sweetness and touching drama. The story likewise, it really made me feel warm inside, it made me laugh, it surprised me, it charmed me and it moved me.
Baker continues to grow as a director, building even more upon the rich texture and intimate detail seen in particularly 'Tangerine' (both there in 'Starlet', but felt deeper with each succeeding film).
Acting is uniformly good. Not just from the most well-known name Willem Dafoe giving perhaps his best performance in years, but also from Bria Vinaite giving a performance of searing intensity and especially an astoundingly mature beyond her years Brooklynn Prince who deserves to become a star after this. There is an improvisatory feel at points but this came over very naturally which is pretty incredible really because not everybody is comfortable with improvisation.
In summary, a very good film but, despite the positive critical reception, like Baker's previous films it will divide audiences (already has). 8/10 Bethany Cox
Disney ending
Moonee is a young girl running around her Florida neighborhood with her friends. She lives with her mother Halley in a budget motel near Disney World. Halley does petty scams to pay the weekly rent. Bobby (Willem Dafoe) is the hotel manager who has a paternal respect for the girls. It's a world of passing tourists, and the working poor.
This is an indie from exciting new filmmaker Sean Baker. Bria Vinaite and Brooklynn Prince are compelling newcomers. It has a nice cinema verite vibe. I don't know how Dafoe got involved but he's terrific as always. It's an entrancing watch although it does ramble around. There is no obvious plot or destination but it fits the characters. They live aimless lives. There is obvious pending doom awaiting this family. I don't know about the girls running to Disney World. It needs more setup to have a better payoff for that ending. Quite frankly, the pedophile has more setup than Disney World. It's understandable to do that ending but the audience needs preparation.