Review of The Florida Project, directed by Sean Baker

Something I’ve ruminated about ever since I started this blog is about how sometimes, you just always remember when and where you saw a movie for the first time. For me, there are some movies that always stick out in this way, making them extra special in my core memory bank of the brain.

That said, The Florida Project is a film I’ve returned to many times throughout the years. I think that it really touched me the first time I saw it due to the fact I had a friend then in a similar situation living down in Orlando. Although they weren’t the same age as the main protagonist of this movie, it made me think long and hard about poverty in the area.

I was thinking about it again when I decided to rewatch the film. And that is how we ended up here, preparing to review the film for the first time. Guess there’s always a first for something!

Let’s get into the review.

The story of a poor young girl who grows up in a motel with her mother within Orlando.

Our protagonist in The Florida Project is Moonee, who is six. She lives inside of a motel called Magic Castle Inn & Sweets in Kissimmee, which, if you know your Florida geography, isn’t too far from Disney World. Her mother is young as well, and a single one to boot—so Moonee spends her days wandering the property and surrounding area in search of adventure.

Moonee’s mother is Halley, who is recently unemployed after a stint as an exotic dancer. She refused to get sexy with her clients, leading to these circumstances. She no longer can afford food, so she relies on their neighbor Ashley for food. Halley also can’t afford rent, so she now resorts to selling knockoff perfumes.

Moonee ventures around with their neighbor Scooty, who his mother, who is Ashley, told Moonee’s mother to watch while she goes to work on the diner. Of course Halley doesn’t actually do this, and the kids are joined by Dicky. But when the three are found spitting on someone’s car, Dicky is grounded and Moonee and Scooty find a new girl, Jancey, to recruit into their group.

Jancey, Moonee, and Scotty continue wandering the neighborhood and they teach Jancey all of their tricks. They also get into spats with the manager of the property, Bobby, especially after they shut off the entire place’s power. Bobby sees these kids for who they are, though, and doesn’t get too mad at them.

Dicky’s family leaves for Louisiana, and Scooty takes a lighter he finds from Dicky’s family’s place. With the other two kids, they light a fire at an abandoned complex, and Ashley finds out. She bands from Scooty from hanging out with them anymore, and cuts off her connection with Halley.

Now desperate, Halley decides to become an online sex worker, which definitely is not allowed at the motel. She locks Moonee in the bathroom when she does this, putting on loud music. However, when she steals the passes for Disney off of a guy who hired her, Bobby realizes what’s going on.

He restricts her from having more visitors, but this just leads Halley to beg Ashley for money. Ashley goes off on her about her sex work, then Halley beats Ashley up in front of Scooty. DCF shows up the next morning, questioning both Halley and Moonee about how they live.

Halley throws away her weed because of it, and then brings Moonee to a fancy hotel restaurant, charging it to a random guest’s room. When they come back, the DCF is there, as they found out about Halley’s sex work. Moonee is taken away for foster care, and when she says bye to Scooty, he tells her that.

Moonee flees, and, together with Jancey, runs away to the Magic Kingdom.

Overall Thoughts

As I mentioned before, I thought this movie really struck a chord in me. Moonee is definitely a product of her environment, and it’s sad what happened to her mother and her. While the ending might be bleak, outside of the dreamy sequence where the girls go to Disney World, it’s unfortunately realistic.

From Willem Dafoe’s performance to the young girl who plays Moonee, this is such a great movie when it comes to acting. Some stellar acting is to be seen in this movie—so go see it if you haven’t already!

Such a great piece of filmmaking it is in general. There’s a reason why I keep returning to it.

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