The Florida Project is a Sean Baker directorial drama film, commercially distributed by A24 productions. It stars Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite and Willem Dafoe in leading roles and was critically commended for its acting, cinematography and direction. It is centered on the locality next to the Disney world in Florida, where a single mother and her child live in a rented motel room trying to make it through the day. Made in 2017, the title of the movie is owed to what Disney world was initially designated as during its construction.
Plot
The movie itself is simply how the child, Moonee, is living in a motel with her mother, Halley, and her life in and around the place with her friends. It shows how the children behave, explore and find things that make them happy, while the adults are always sunken in the deep mess of responsibilities, greed, survival and guilt. The manager of the motel, Bob (Dafoe) has a soft spot for the kids, feels a kind of responsibility towards their wellbeing and even helps Moonee and her mom as they struggle to make ends meet.
The Florida Project is somewhat of a major lesson, a reflection and an ode to childhood. The simpler things in life are often missed out on, and that’s exactly what Baker tries to show. It sticks with you either as memories or regrets, but is always up to us. We see how unbothered the kids are by the intricacies of life, how they find pleasure in things like running around in the grass, duping people for mere pennies just so they could get ice cream or swimming in the pool. They want to be free, and ultimately that is the biggest takeaway from the movie.
Notable things
The color purple is a major actor in the picture, because that is the color of the motel that Moonee and her friends stay in. There are hints of purple throughout the movie, either as buildings or scenery. The color shows free spirit and psychologically invokes a sense of satisfaction and carefree-ness. The cinematography is simply mind-pleasing and you can just view some stills as wallpapers for your desktop.
The story disappoints neither, delving into the complexities of human vs child narratives, poverty and innocence. Brooklynn Prince is simply outstanding in her portrayal of Moonee, and that is an understatement. She makes the character her own and exhibits every emotion and action to perfection. She is one pillar that carries the movie, flawlessly living Moonee’s life as if it were her own.
Why should you watch The Florida Project?
Watch it as a lot of things- a reminder of your childhood or a lesson to appreciate your life. There was nothing wrong with the movie, even on the surface or symbolically. The themes were on spot, story carrying you through the setting and the cinematography mentally transforming you to Florida.
It carries summer vibes, when all that is free is your mind and will. It is light, and a pleasure to watch and we promise you wouldn’t regret it. If you’re in the mood for some action combined with fantasy, Free Guy is the way to go. For the light-viewers of romance and drama, we have the Notebook for your viewing pleasure.
