Nominated For: Best Supporting Actor; Willem Dafoe.
The Florida Project depicts the day-to-day dilemmas and experiences of a troublesome six-year old named Moonee and her ragtag group of friends as they court mischief and adventure around their makeshift motel during the summertime. Meanwhile, Moonee and her absurdly irresponsible mother live week-to-week at the Magic Castle, a budget hotel on the outskirts of Disney World managed by a watchful, compassionate attendant.
The Florida Project is written and directed by up-and-coming Indie-filmmaker Sean Baker, who cowrote the screenplay with longtime collaborator and friend Chris Bergoch. I've been meaning to watch this film for quite some time, but only got around to it more recently because I wanted to be sure and watch it before tomorrow night's Academy Awards since I'd heard so much buzz around the film and it was nominated for Willem Dafoe's performance. Like Mudbound, I watched the film with set expectations for how I thought everything would pan out and was similarly disengaged for the first fifteen minutes. At first, I found the bratty behavior of the children to be repulsive and the attitude of the mother to be utterly obnoxious until I realized it was all intentional. Over the film's runtime though, I warmed up to the characters and realized Baker was commenting on poverty and conditions of the marginalized American population.
These individuals aren't quite homeless, but they're obviously at the tipping point and I felt like seeing that on film really put things into perspective. I'm not going to go into political semantics, but the word "privilege" often carries a negative connotation and is almost entirely associated with the idea of being rich. However, Baker reminds those in the middle class that we're more privileged than any of us would care to admit. Of course, we run into our own fair share of financial problems, but they're nowhere near this extent... Which only makes it all the more remarkable that Baker was able to authentically approach this subject matter through the naive perspective of a child.
This is reflected in Alexis Zabe's cinematography, as The Florida Project is beaming with bright imagery full of dynamic color contrast and largely shot from low angles. Beyond the aesthetic, there's an underlying sense of awe and wonder in direct opposition to the tragic circumstance these families find themselves in. The world not only looks vibrant and exciting though. It feels that way due to Sean Baker's direction. The closest comparison that comes to mind is 2015 awards contender Room, but these children aren't exactly innocent like Jack. They're equally oblivious to the severity of their situations, but Moonee and her friends are exposed to the negative influences of the outside world while Jack was essentially sheltered to the confines of a shack for a VAST majority of his life.
Due to the aforementioned approach, The Florida Project is a film that lives and breathes on the proficiency of its child actors. If they couldn't carry their scenes, this film would not have received such a warm reception. Thankfully, they foot the bill. I doubt I'll be able to truly tell you something you haven't heard already, but I'll elaborate nonetheless. Moonee's friends, Scooty, Dicky, and Jancey, are played by Christopher Rivera, Aiden Malik, and Valeria Cotto respectively, who make for a sufficient set of friends for Moonee. With all that being said, Brooklynn Prince is a precious revelation. If you don't believe me, good luck watching the video below without thinking the words "aw" or "adorable" to yourself.
Now that's GOTTA stand out as one of the most adorable awards acceptance speeches you've ever seen, right? Anyways, Prince has earned her coveted spot alongside other unstoppable young actors as her performance isn't just "cute." She expresses a lot of emotion over roughly two hours, and it all comes across as genuine and endearing. You'll find yourself wrapped up in her heartbreaking circumstance because Prince will win you over in a matter of minutes.
Portraying her mother Halley, first-time actress Bria Vinaite managed to both revolt me as such an irresponsible adult and pluck my heartstrings in the grounded, tender moments she shared with her daughter. I know it sounds insane, but Vinaite made it work wonders! You'll probably wind up leaning towards the side of "get this child away from this woman," but there's enough of a bond between Halley and Moonee that your heart aches for their day-to-day dilemma.
Purely from a filmmaking standpoint, The Florida Project is endlessly imaginative and brimming with childlike wonder. I wasn't expecting to say this, but I now even find myself in the camp of individuals who believe the Academy unfairly snubbed the film in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and maybe even Best Actress/Supporting Actress for Prince and Vinaite. While I thought the film's overarching narrative was weak from time-to-time by nature of the day-to-day storytelling and that the ending was a jarring transition from an incredible emotionally-charged scene, I'd say The Florida Project is a shining gem from 2017 that I regret not seeing in theaters.
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