The Florida Project - Sean Baker
I had no idea what to expect from this film. The title and promotional material are intentionally vague.
Almost instantly you are intrigued – then you’re hooked. The reality of the situations and believability of the performances are fantastic. You won’t be able to turn away.
The Realness Of The Kids
The realness of what little shits kids can be will punch you in the face with this one. But they also steal the show. All of the kids in this heart-wrenching tale are spectacular.
The kids’ normal existence is pretty depressing as you see them begging for money for a single ice-cream that they all share. They are also constant plot drivers – turning off the power to the motel and setting one of the abandoned houses on fire.
Brooklyn Prince
Perhaps I identify a little too well with their antics. I find the kids super real. Moonee, Brooklyn Prince (The Lego Movie 2 & Home Before Dark), is fantastically mischievous – she teeters on the edge of being really bad.
She keeps pushing the boundaries but she knows when she is in big trouble. It is written all over her face. The director gets a brilliant performance out of this newcomer and hopefully we will see some great things from her in the future.
Wait. Was That Willem Dafoe?
This film has some great talent in it. Almost as soon as the credits are over we are shocked to see Willem Dafoe (Platoon & At Eternity’s Gate), as the overworked motel manager, Bobby. He is fantastic with the kids – but he knows if you give them an inch and they will take a yard.
Bobby is a real and enigmatic character. He is torn between being excellent at his job at running this terrible motel for the rif-raf that it attracts. On the other side he kowtows to his boss who gets him to impose some pretty ridiculous things on the populace.
He is always there as well. He is switched on and present. Stepping in to save the kids from a paedophile and to get a harmless old lady to stop skinny dipping at the pool.
Child's Eye View
Lots of the story is told from the perspective of the kids which is really tough to do. It’s hard to show complex stories this way because the kids just don’t understand what is going on. So normally I would say it doesn’t work.
That’s normally – here it is brilliantly used. We are dragged along with the delinquent mother, Halley, as she hawks perfume at hiked up rates. We slowly realise what is going on with all the baths that Moonee is taking – the WOW moment here is devastating.
Halley
The down on her luck Halley, Bria Vinaite (The OA & Lost Transmissions) is great. She is very hot and cold with everyone but is fiercely defensive of her daughter, Moonee, and is also her best friend. I’m not a parent nor do I think I could offer any advice. But I know when it isn’t working – and sister – this ain’t working.
As the focus tightens on her mum’s inability to support them you realise that we are heading for a train wreck – the question is just how and when. The end is powerful and the confrontation between the authority figures and the daughter is poignant.
Then the story is done and the kids disappear into the crowds at Disneyland. Obviously.
Why I Love This Film
At its heart the story isn’t complex. Halley fighting to survive and keep her family afloat through any means necessary – apart from getting a job. The eventual down spiral and fracturing of all relationships as the money pressures grow – simple?
The telling of this tale through the kids eyes is brilliant, and as I said really hard to do well. The realness of the situation and ALL of the characters is fantastic – huge fan of Dafoe in this and the complexity of all the relationships.
