Film / Reviews
Review: The Florida Project
The Florida Project (15)
USA 2017 115 mins Dir: Sean Baker Cast: Willem Dafoe, Brooklynn Kimberly Prince, Bria Vinaite, Valeria Cotto, Christopher Rivera, Caleb Landry Jones
Life in the shadow of Walt Disney World is a wild ride for 6-year old Moonee (the amazing Brooklynn Prince) and friends in the latest film from Sean Baker (Tangerine). It features extraordinary performances from a cast of actors who are mostly unknown – with the notable exception of Willem Dafoe, who turns in an awards-worthy performance as motel manager Bobby.
https://youtu.be/tpEFZgyLGSM
The Florida Project superbly captures life through the eyes of the adventurous Moonee and her childhood friends. Free to roam the world with only the loosest of parental boundaries set by her mother Halley (Bria Vinaite), the family is forgotten by a system recovering from the sub-prime housing market crash and trapped in a state of perilous impermanence amongst the garish motels and strip malls in the orbit of Walt Disney World.
Life beyond the walls of Disney’s Magic Kingdom exists on the fringes of copyright infringement, from Halley’s attempt to make ends meet selling cheap perfume to tourists in the parking lots of hotels to the Magic Castle motel where Dafoe’s caretaker takes his job title literally. Even the hilariously potty-mouthed, seemingly invincible Moonee seems to be a miniature copy of her fierce mother, the key difference being that for Halley there is no adult safety net to protect her when things go bad. The Florida Project is one of the year’s best films.
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