The Florida Project

One of the best parts of going on holiday is the journey. The excitement is building, you can see your destination in the distance, you stare out the window, taking in the surroundings with a big wide grin because you are almost there. Looking at the surroundings that you don't even give a second thought too. That's where this film is set. In the forgotten places.

6 year old Moonee lives with her Mam Halley in a rickety motel that's run by the amiable but not to be messed with Bobby. The motel is in the shadow of the big Orlando holiday resorts. They live in poverty but Moonee is too young to know how desperate their situation is and spends her time playing with her best friends Scooty and Jancey while her mother hustles and begs money to pay the rent and gets free food from her best friend Ashley's job. One day a rash act by Scooty brings their whole world crashing down around their heads.

I really liked this. It's a look at the modern day reality of life for a lot of people in America. The people no one cares about. The people who voted for Trump and who he doesn't give a damn about. The people who grow up poor in the shadow of wealth. It sounds grim and depressing doesn't it. It is but because we see a lot of it from Mooney's perspective it takes on a kind of a fairytale sheen. The sunshine, the garish colours designed to make a shithole look appealing, big bad wolves in the form of dirty old men, danger lurking but ignored because of childhood innocence. "There's alligators in there!" "If I had any alligator I'd call him Andy!". The ridiculous cartoonish facades of buildings and shops. A world that looks child friendly that is anything but. The film-makers also manage to find a strange kind of beauty in a run down place too. One shot of Bobby standing in front of the motel as the doors open one by one is a stunner.

The mostly unknown cast is very effective. Brooklynn Kimberly Prince as Moonee is brilliant. A real ball of energy. Afraid of nothing and capable of saying anything. She reminded me of the kids in the BBC show Outnumbered. She seems so full of life that you forget she's only a baba until in one scene she bursts into tears and your heart breaks for her instantly. Bria Vinaite as her mam Halley is another unknown that hits the spot. She's a disaster who smokes weed and swears constantly in front of her kid but you can tell she really loves and cares for her daughter. She has a very likable way about her that will make you side with her even when other characters are ticked off with her. A fraught confrontation midway through the movie is amazing from her. I've no doubt we'll see more of her soon. The only big name in the film is Willem Dafoe as the owner of the motel. At first he seems like he'll be an antagonist but gradually the warmth of his character shines through, especially in his scenes with the kids. He tries not to care for them but it's glaringly obvious he does. I like seeing Dafoe in a role like this. It makes a nice change.

Director Sean Baker deftly balances dark and light in this. For every scene of adult misery we get Moonee and her friends screaming about "Ghost poo" or shouting "Bobby Boobie" when Dafoe has to deal with a woman sunbathing topless against motel rules. Even a line about needing ice cream to stop asthma will make you laugh at a scene that shows children begging for money. The kids laughter is infectious and for a minute lets you forget the realities of their situation. A situation that only has one realistic direction and you'll find  yourself hoping against hope that things won't go that way. 

I don't think this is the masterpiece that a lot of people are making it out to be. It is very good though. It's fierce unsubtle in places and in the earlier scenes i found it to be a little bit overegged. But that might be just me looking for something, anything, to whinge about. It reminded me of last year's American Honey, my favourite film of 2016. The way humanity can still thrive amongst the misery. A dreamy but horrible look at the effects of the fractured American dream. It's a film really worth a watch.