100 Movie Project - The Florida Project

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The following post contains spoilers for The Florida Project, The Lost Okoroshi, Blade Runner, and Taxi Driver.

Alright so I started with a couple of well known classics with Blade Runner and Taxi Driver, then talked about a foreign film, The Lost Okoroshi. Time for an indie film. The Florida Project was directed by Sean Baker, who also directed Tangerine (which I haven’t watched yet). He filmed Tangerine on an iPhone so I was interested to see what he did in this film.

The main character, Moonee, is a 6 year old girl who lives with her single mother in a motel near Disney World in Florida. The film follows her as she and her friends live their lives in the shadow of luxury, a luxury they themselves have no piece of.

There was a lot to like about this movie. The location worked well. I’m pretty sure it was actually filmed at a motel outside Disney World so while there was nothing seemingly special about it, it exuded a worn down-ness. The faded colors, hanging clothes, and take away food boxes had a very real lived in feeling, something I personally dont associate with hotels or motels, that helped drive home the fact that the people there were scraping by. This stood in stark contrast to the occasional mentions of Disney World and the people visiting it. They were a different group, an other, that existed outside of the bubble our struggling protagonists lived in but sometimes crossed paths with them.

I’ve quite enjoyed the locations so far in the films I’ve watched. They’ve all done a great job making their location feel real and lived in. Blade Runner’s futuristic dystopia was dark and neon and Taxi Driver’s New York felt suitably gritty and grimy. Similar to The Florida Project the locations in The Lost Okoroshi, Lagos and the villages on the outskirts, contrasted nicely with each other.

There was also some exceptional acting. Willem Defoe was the only actor I recognized and he was great. He plays Bobby Hicks, the manager of the motel and was great as a sort of run down working class guy trying to run the motel while also dealing with all the people who live there. He cam off as incredibly human, always trying to balance out the needs of the motel with the interests of the people who lived there, especially the young ones. Bria Vinaite and Mela Murder, who played the mothers of Moonee and her friend Scooty put on very good performances as single mothers struggling to make ends meet doing whatever they can. The young actors were also all very good. I’m always impressed when I see kids acting so well. On the one hand it’s a little disheartening to see people so young be so much better than me at something but if they can do it why can’t I?

The standout was definitely Brooklynn Prince, who played Moonee. She was incredible. She was young and carefree and making the best of a bad situation. I never for a second thought of her as acting. It was almost as if the film was a documentary following her around. Everything she did was believable and her breakdown at the end of the film as her mother got arrested was spectacular.

I also read that the last scene of the movie, as she runs into Disney World with her friend, was filmed on an iPhone with almost no crew so that they didn’t draw too much attention to themselves. This is the kind of thing I like to learn and to see. I usually film in random places, and got kicked out of one place, so it’s interesting to see how actual filmmakers tackle filming in some locations.

Now I’ve watched some classics and some foreign and indie films. Next week I’ll probably check out another classic.

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