The Florida Project_movie review

The Florida Project, released in 2017, stars Brooklynn Prince, born in 2010, as Mooney, Bria Vinaite as Halley, and Willem Dafoe as Bobby, a motel manager. The title is a nod to what the theme park was originally called before becoming famous.

Storyline

The storyline revolves around a young single mother trying to get by selling knock-off perfume in the parking lots of hotels for the affluent. Halley isn't a chain smoker but is close to it, smoking while sitting on the bed beside her daughter Moonee in a motel managed by Bobby. There are a lot of families with kids at this motel and all of them are hurting financially, so move from motel to motel.

The Motel - a character itself

The Magic Castle Inn is on Route 64 in Kissimmee, Florida. If that town sounds familiar, it's because Disney World is there. The motel is bright lavender-purple and nicknamed The Purple Palace. Moonee and her mom live on the second level. Halley's friend Ashley and her son Scooty, a friend of Moonee, live below her. Halley frequently sends Moonee to the back door of the fast food joint where Ashley works to get free food.

The building is on a busy road near creepy uninhabited condos the kids call "the abandids." As they wander down Seven Dwarfs Lane, past the Wishing Star motel, they pass by buildings shaped like mermaids and wizards, giant ice cream cones, and oranges. The kids comment on how creepy the buildings are. Moonee is a precocious child and calls a cow field an exotic safari — but because she is so much older than her age, she is observant, and nothing gets past her. She knows which motel resident drinks beer all day and which is carted off by the police regularly.

Homelessness

The movie portrays the hidden lives of the homeless, who move from motel to motel, trying to find work and ways to feed their families. One scene is heartbreaking: The dad rounds up all the kids and lets them pick whatever toy they want from his son's full basket. He promises his son that he will buy him all new stuff when they get to their new town.

Bobby is vigilant and doesn't let anyone stay in their room longer than a certain time. He tells Halley she cannot live at the motel and stores her items overnight, telling her to find another place to sleep. That doesn't work out well, and Bobby must rescue her and Moonee.

Bobby is a gentleman, a kind soul, and protective of the children while trying to do his job to the best of his ability. His manager visits him and has to fix some things the manager pointed out.

Bobby works in the office on the books and wanders the property, ensuring it is clean and stopping one tenant from sunbathing topless because of the kids.

The kids are outside in the morning when a man approaches them. Bobby watches from the sidelines until he sees the need to intervene.

One day, Moonee, her girlfriend Jancey, and Scooty enter an abandoned house. Scooty can't help himself and hammers through the sheetrock, breaking whatever he sees. They leave, but not without irreparable harm.

Halley not only sells perfume, she sometimes sells her body, with Moonee innocently playing in the bathtub. One scene shows the "guest" barging into the bathroom and exclaiming about a kid there. Moonee pulls the shower curtain and continues playing.

The Plight of Moonee

Halley, barely out of childhood herself, is raising her daughter, cigarette smoking, jobless, not disciplining Moonee, and they live in a cheap motel she can't afford.

Toward the movie's end, reality calls, and at this point, the child who never cries does cry. She runs to her friend Jancey's, and when Jancey sees Mooeny sobbing and unable to talk, they decide to take off.

Despite the sadness of the subject, the children are resilient, and the characters' quirkiness and scenery make it a great watch. The ending is a surprise and left to the viewer. I recommend the movie for a fun watch, as well as great acting.

Copyright © 12/9/2024 by Andrea O. Corwin

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