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Tangerine co-writer/director Sean Baker applies his ‘quasi-cinéma vérité’ style to this examination of Moonee, an unsupervised six-year old child (Brooklynn Prince) running free-range in an impoverished motel community positioned immediately outside Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Along with a couple of her young friends, Moonee terrorizes the motel tenants, many of whom live there permanently — or for as long as their weekly rent checks don’t bounce. Since Moonee’s single, drug-addicted, hooker mother (Bria Vinaite) fails to discipline Moonee, much of the wrangling responsibility falls on the motel supervisor, played by Willem Dafoe. But when Mooney burns down a nearby building and Child Protective Services enter the equation, Moonee’s actions — and her mother’s inaction — may finally reap consequences.
As with Tangerine, The Florida Project is a powerfully believable, voyeuristic look at the lives of its characters. These lives, like the lives of many of us, aren’t tidy. They can be downright sordid. Even though Sean Baker’s films are scripted, it’s hard not to feel like we’re watching a documentary at times. His filmmaking style is refreshing and potent, often captivating as it is here. His subject matter tends to focus on people who have made a series of poor decisions that lead them into horrible circumstances. This is where he threatens to lose me as a fan of his filmmaking. My empathy goes only so far for characters who have no one to blame but themselves for their hardships.
Even though she creates some comedic and surprising moments in the movie, I really despise Moonee’s mother in this movie. But she’s not really the main character here. In an odd sort of way, she’s the villain. Dafoe’s motel supervisor character is set up to be the hero, but Baker sticks to his guns and remains true to his pursuit of truth, which allows for no happy ending. Despite Dafoe’s character’s concern and compassion, he is powerless in the end. And even though Moonee lives next the happiest, most magical amusement park on the planet, her life is absolute shit. So the film is ultimately a tragedy, ending with a poignant sequence of childhood fantasy — almost as though Moonee herself has taken control of the film in its final minutes. At first, I hated the ending. But the more I thought about it, I fell in love it.
The magic of The Florida Project is how the run-down, capitalist miasma of Orlando is turned into a colorful playground through the eyes of its six-year old protagonist. She’s misguided and most likely on her way to becoming another of Baker’s sordid, broken adults, but I can’t hold it against her yet. She’s only six and there’s still hope. And she’s remarkably resilient considering her lot in life. At one point, Moonee tells her friend Jancey (Valeria Cotto) why she loves a particular tree they’re playing on: “Because it’s tipped over, but it’s still growing.” This is the best we can hope for Moonee and any child growing up in a world that continually fails them.
From a filmmaking perspective, Baker stuns us with another cast of non-actors. Moonee and her mother, as well as many other characters in the film, are not played by professional actors. These are people literally found by Baker on the street — and they give terrific performances. As wonderful as professional trained actors can be, there’s something special about raw, unrefined natural talent. The film is also beautifully framed and photographed in widescreen, capturing the beguiling atmosphere of a run-down cesspit covered in a vibrant veneer of paint. It looks beautiful at first, but only as you drive by it on your way to Magic Kingdom. If you stop and take a longer look, you’ll see the ugly desperation perpetually fighting its way through that futile paint job.
Co-written by Chris Bergoch. With Christopher Rivera, Aiden Malik, and Mela Murder.
Oscar Nomination: Best Supporting Actor (Willem Dafoe)