The Florida Project (2017, R)

This is the last Oscar movie I wanted to catch before the ceremony, and it was a goond one to end on, a strong slice-of-life piece with a simple story boosted by strong acting.  I watched it because of Willem Dafoe’s supporting actor nod, but it’s a good film all around.

6-year-old Moonee lives with her mother in a tacky, low-rent motel within spitting distance of Dinsey World.  As povery brushes up against the ultimate in wildly-expensive fun, Moonee and her friends make their own adventures – getting into assorted kinds of trouble, hustling strangers for ice cream money, and aggravating Bobby, the motel manager.  The film follows the events of an aimless summer break as Moonee runs around making fun any way she knows how.

This is the newest film from Sean Baker, who came on my radar a few years ago with Tangerine.  The Florida Project has much the same style – meandering, unapologetic, and very indie – but I think it works for me better here than it does there.  I’m not even quite sure why, since the film has even less of a driving story than Tangerine does.  However, it creates a really full piecture of the small world it inhabits, and the naturalistic feel goes well with the little kids running around playing.  And yes, on that note, I’ll fully admit that I’m kind of a sucker for stories about irrepressible kids going on “adventures” together, so that’s a definite factor in my enjoyment of it.

The relationship between Moonee and her mother is really interesting to me.  Moonee is equal parts engaging charmer and nightmare child – there are clear places where her natural mischievousness stops being cute and she becomes a mouthy brat, and you don’t have to look very hard to see where she’s learned that.  Her mom models plenty of the undesirable behavior Moonee exhibits, from coarsely disrespecting authority figures, to getting what she wants by scamming people, to willfully refusing to accept responsibility for her actions.  Right now, Moonee’s attitude is often entertaining, but if she’s still pulling the same stuff in another 15 years (and teaching it to the next generation as her mother did her,) we have living proof that that’s not going to be a good looking for her.

And yet, there are really pure, delightful moments between Moonee and her mom, too, scenes where they’re gleefully playing together and their obvious love for each other shines through.  I love that, that the film refuses to let Moonee’s mother be just one thing.  Being an irresponsible parent and a horrible role model doesn’t negate her love for her daughter, just like sweetly playing with Moonee doesn’t erase the bad things she does.

All the acting is very good.  I was really impressed with little Brooklynn Prince, who plays Moonee – she feels so natural onscreen.  Big props to her, as well as to Baker for directing her so well.  As for Williem Dafoe (as Bobby, the manager,) I was a little unsure how he’d fit into a rough-edges film like this, but he also feels very natural in the part.  He brings a nice mix of exasperation and genuine care in dealing with both Moonee and her mom.  As much as Moonee drives him crazy, he’s also serious about looking out for her when she needs it.  It’s another really interesting relationship in the film, nicely brought to life by the actors.

Warnings

Lots of swearing, drinking/smoking/drug use, sexual references, and strong thematic elements.