The Florida Project (2017)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

So there's a mini movie theater in my town and sometimes they have free movie screenings. Last night I went to see this with a friend. We got high right before it started and honestly I don't think I'd understand it even if I wasn't high. It has a really nice vibe and makes you feel things. I'd say it's worth the watch because of how interesting is, to me at least. I'd give it a 10/10 but it wasn't that great.

This is Sean Baker's follow-up to his trans/iphone drama Tangerine starring Willem DaFoe who was nominated for an Oscar this past year. It tells of the have-nots living on the outskirts of Disneyland & the other magical realms of abandon in Florida where from a distance, the environs are colorful & tidy but who inhabits them sing a completely tune. Giving full sympathy to the tatt'd mother & smart-mouthed daughter, we see what happens when opportunities are squandered & forgotten & lives just go w/the flow, letting things happen as a matter of eventuality rather than willful decision. Striking, heartfelt & disturbing sometimes all at once, we're still left w/the feeling as to whether we should understand them or stomp our feet in defiance saying 'enough's enough!'

Impressive acting...and the only person who looked like they were acting was Willem Dafoe (who still acquitted himself well). I found the camera work mesmerizing and Brooklynn Prince's acting totally stunning (she's the heart of this movie, perhaps in counterpoint to her mother, convincingly played by Bria Vinaite). The director carefully crafted each scene but without the expected histrionics. It's a sweet and innocent story set in a cultural garbage dump. The ending seemed a bit too simplistic...I'd have like to see a bit more resolution even though you know exactly how things are going to turn out. If this movie doesn't make a strong case for fully funding Planned Parenthood then nothing ever ever will.

Willem Dafoe is the glue that holds all of the other pieces together in "The Florida Project." Without Dafoe, who plays the even-keeled motel manager Bobby Hicks, this cinema verité styled film would disintegrate into loosely tied together improvisational scenes featuring non professional and first time actors. Dafoe is at his best when his character struggles to manage the moral dilemmas he's presented at the hands of the guests of his "Magic Castle Motel," most of which are more like permanent residents. At times he is a strict disciplinarian and rule enforcer. At other times he is a playful and compassionate guardian. Waiting to see which part of Bobby's personality emerges in the middle of any of his many guests' crises proves to be just as nail bitingly anxious as the unraveling of their eventual fates.