Film Corner: The Florida Project

The Florida Project is the latest film directed by Sean Baker, following up his breakout hit, Tangerine, a movie solely shot on an iPhone 5s. Like his last film he is covering a topic that most people don’t think about, in Tangerine, it was about transgender prostitutes.

In The Florida Project it’s the underbelly of society, and basically the homeless just making enough money to afford to live at a cheap motel right next to Disney World. The film revolves around the adorable troublemaker, six-year-old Moonee (Brooklyn Prince), and her loving, but rebellious mother Hailey (Bria Vinai). Bobby (Willem Dafoe), the hardworking, compassionate, hotel manager has to deal with all of the shenanigans that Mooney and her friends get into. At the first of the movie, you may think he has a hard exterior. As the movie goes on you see what a kind man he is, and how much he does for the tenants of the hotel.

Willem Dafoe did a fantastic job with the role and was the perfect casting choice for the role. Bobby is the anchor of reason and has an enormous amount of empathy for Moonee and Hailey, at times they are really hard to love, especially Hailey. A mom who just lets her kid run wild with the other kids of the hotel, lays around all day, sells fake designer perfume to country club members with her daughter, has a terrible attitude, and at some points is just an irresponsible parent.

You see the movie almost exclusively from Moonee’s point of view, and for all the irresponsible things Hailey does, there is an act of pure selflessness that Moonee is not aware of. Shielding her child, so Moonee can keep living in a somewhat fantasy world, and enjoying childhood. Hailey will do anything she can to take care of her child, even if it means taking drastic measures. The performance from Bria Vinai, in her debut role in a film nonetheless, is nothing short of extraordinary.

Her character is so well written, layered, and performed so genuinely, you would never believe this would be her first role. Her character study is one of the strong points of the movie, and there is a LOT of strong points. I was infuriated at times with her character, empathetic the next moment, and laughing the next, and it is all a testament to the writing and her Oscar-worthy performance.

Speaking of Oscar-worthy performances, Brooklyn Prince is a born star. She was a joy to watch, she was hilarious, sassy, smart, and moving. Her performance was incredibly genuine, and most of the times I forgot she was acting. Sean Baker and his team did a great job at making the interactions with the kids feel entirely natural.

It’s as if the camera there wasn’t a camera on the kids at all, they just acted how kids act. You would think this is a thing that films accomplish easily, but I’ve never seen such an authentic portrayal of children on a big screen. A smile never left my face as I watched Mooney and her friends go on mischievous adventures. As the movie gets darker as it goes on, Prince is asked to do more dramatic moments, and she nails it. Brooklyn gave one of the best performances this year, and one of the best child performances I have ever seen.

Sean Baker, with this film, proves that he is one of the most exciting directors working today. His use of color in this film was exquisite and had some beautiful wide shots reminiscent of Wes Anderson. Baker also co-wrote the movie, and the dialogue is another very strong aspect of the film. The dialogue is very realistic, snappy, interesting, and quirky. This movie is easily my favorite film of the year, with natural performances, a moving story, great dialogue, and some of the best directing this year, do not miss this one!