Florida Project is another one of those films whose trailers concentrate deceptively on the upbeat scenes to create a false impression of carefree exuberance. The real story is a dreary two-hour slice of life in the low-end motels of Orlando's Disney World fringe, where even the gun shop professes a dubious Disney tie-in. The only saving grace - tho not quite enough to save the day - is an excellent performance by Willem Dafoe as Bobby, the long-suffering goodhearted manager of the run-down motel that serves as the locus of the film.
The lead character, precocious six-year-old Moonee (Brooklyn Prince), is frequently adorable, but two hours of her & her friends' shrill hyperactivity is wearing at best. In true cinéma verité style, the dialog is rapid & often mumbled, making it hard to follow what little "plot" there may be. Moonee's mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) just misses being likable. She clearly loves her daughter & we can't help sympathizing with her straitened circumstances, just a poor foolish girl trying to make her way as best she can. Yet her inability to prevent her foul mouth from running away with her at the slightest provocation tends to erode even the most obstinate sympathy. Her efforts to scam a living & her occasional forays into prostitution - bringing a John home while Moonee is consigned to a long bath in the same motel room - tend to confirm the authorities' conclusion that she really isn't a fit mother despite her best intentions.
Thru most of the film, we witness Moonee's joie de vivre, her laughter, her impudence, but it isn't till the authorities come to take her into foster care that we see her truly angry. She manages to elude them & flees to her best friend's house & here for the first time we see her in tears. Her friend is so moved by her anguish that - without even needing to know what the trouble is - she grabs Moonee's hand & the two children run away together. To Disney World, no less. Significant symbolism here, I guess eh? The innocence of youth seeking refuge in the beguiling illusion of a glitzy hyper-marketed amusement park. Just another of those unresolved endings so common in films nowadays. Happily ever after, the end? Yeah, right.
The lead character, precocious six-year-old Moonee (Brooklyn Prince), is frequently adorable, but two hours of her & her friends' shrill hyperactivity is wearing at best. In true cinéma verité style, the dialog is rapid & often mumbled, making it hard to follow what little "plot" there may be. Moonee's mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) just misses being likable. She clearly loves her daughter & we can't help sympathizing with her straitened circumstances, just a poor foolish girl trying to make her way as best she can. Yet her inability to prevent her foul mouth from running away with her at the slightest provocation tends to erode even the most obstinate sympathy. Her efforts to scam a living & her occasional forays into prostitution - bringing a John home while Moonee is consigned to a long bath in the same motel room - tend to confirm the authorities' conclusion that she really isn't a fit mother despite her best intentions.
Thru most of the film, we witness Moonee's joie de vivre, her laughter, her impudence, but it isn't till the authorities come to take her into foster care that we see her truly angry. She manages to elude them & flees to her best friend's house & here for the first time we see her in tears. Her friend is so moved by her anguish that - without even needing to know what the trouble is - she grabs Moonee's hand & the two children run away together. To Disney World, no less. Significant symbolism here, I guess eh? The innocence of youth seeking refuge in the beguiling illusion of a glitzy hyper-marketed amusement park. Just another of those unresolved endings so common in films nowadays. Happily ever after, the end? Yeah, right.