‘The Florida Project’ movie review

Indie director Sean Baker’s ‘The Florida Project’ takes a look at childhood innocence surrounded by a troubled adult world on the fringes of society.  Baker is known for casting first-time actors and shooting his scenes in a naturalistic style.  His 2015 breakout film ‘Tangerine’ was filmed entirely on an iPhone.  His latest work uses 35mm film to capture the lush canvas of sundrenched Florida.  The story follows the adventures of pint-sized kids that call a cheap lavender painted motel home, in the shadows of Orlando’s Disney World.  Baker brilliantly depicts the resilience of childhood, poverty and the broken American dream.  His approach never glamorizes or judges the residents of the fleabag motel.  Once again, Baker masterfully utilizes verite cinema to tell a transcendent story.

Six-year-old Moonee (wonderfully played by newcomer Brooklyn Prince) and her friends Scooty (Christopher Rivera) and Jancey (Valeria Cotto) run around the Magic Castle motel like it is a big playground.  It is far from being a magic kingdom for the adults who are just one step away from homelessness.  The real magic is that the kids never realize that they are on the brink of poverty.  We see Moonee and her friends spit on cars, yell insults at a topless sunbather and panhandle spare change from tourists for soft serve ice cream.  Moonee’s rebellious mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) is between jobs as an exotic dancer so she sells knock-off perfume to unsuspecting tourists in a nearby upscale resort.  She’s usually late on paying the rent to the exasperation of motel manager Bobby (Willem Dafoe).  Dafoe gives one of his finest performances as the sympathetic manager that acts as a reluctant protector to the kids at the motel.

The budget motel on Seven Dwarfs Lane is just miles down the road from the Magic Kingdom theme park but it might as well be on the other side of the world.  Baker shoots the film through the eyes of Moonee.  She is an adorable kid but far from an angel.  She gets into mischief around the motel but has developed street smarts to get out of trouble.  It’s a wondrous performance by the little girl.  She’s just being a kid and the film perfectly captures the freedom and joy of childhood.  Her mother truly cares about her but it is heartbreaking when she is desperately trying to come up with the weekly rent.  They are seen together enjoying the simple things like a free waffle breakfast, a trip to the dollar store and enjoying a Disney fireworks display.  Later in the film, Halley has to resort to more drastic measures to make ends meet.  Despite her mother’s struggles, you begin to understand that Moonee is having way more fun in her magic kingdom versus the snooty tourists on the other side of the tracks.

‘The Florida Project’ is reminiscent of the ‘Little Rascals.’  The heartbreak that you begin to feel in the story is the encroaching real world.  Mother and daughter are living on the edge of homelessness.  Although Moonee is the heroine of the story, it is actually Dafoe’s character Bobby that is the real hero.  As the motel manager, he always has an eye out for the kids at the motel.  He has a thankless job dealing with a broken ice maker and a room infested with bed bugs.  He also boots off a potential child predator from the motel premises.  Bobby emerges as the moral compass to the story.  He understands and sympathizes with the frustration of the motel residents that have fallen on hard times.   It’s a moving performance from the veteran actor that deserves a best supporting nod by the Academy.

Baker has a knack for depicting a slice of America on the fringes of society.  ‘The Florida Project’ is loaded with compassion and raw energy.  There are moments that are difficult to watch but it is well worth the journey.  Disney World may be the happiest place on earth for those that can afford the $99 day pass but even those people that can’t afford admission can still enjoy the fireworks display in the sky.  Cinephiles need to put ‘The Florida Project’ on their must-see list.

 

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