Directed by: Sean Baker
Written by: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch
Starring: Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, Willem Dafoe
IMDb Link
The Florida Project is a window in to the struggles of poverty. The film takes us on a journey through one summer in the life of Moonee, a little girl living with her mother Halley (Vinaite) in the motel "Magic Castle"; we see her pulling pranks and being a general nuisance, spending time with her friends and running away from the motel's manager, Bobby (Dafoe). It's not a focused narrative; the film is a series of short pieces in the life of Moonee and to an extent the people around her, deviating occasionally from Moonee's adventures to look in on Bobby's life or how Halley interacts with her only friend.
All of this works in aid of presenting a realistic window in to the life of a child in a poor community. When the film is with Moonee or one of her child friends, the film dedicates its perspective to either looking at the child or looking from the child's perspective. The film considers how they see the world, how they understand and fail to understand it, what they see that others don't notice, and the power and futility in trying to protect them from the world at large. So much of that is strengthened by the film's momentary looks at the lives of the adults: the children try to live in an adventurous fantasy, but the adults are used to frame the real world, its struggles and those who run away from it.
All of this is reinforced with extraordinary attention to detail in the film's colour palette. The film's primary colour is purple. Magic Castle is painted almost entirely purple, a colour that given the motel's socio-economic standing is could either be ironic or a commentary on what we value: its warm, rich and regal nature is dissonant with how the audience is ultimately positioned to see the area, but at the same time it seems a suggestion of how the children value the place regardless of how the adults deal with it. This colour permeates the entire film. Even if the Magic Castle isn't in the shot, a character is wearing purple or purple light is shining on a character's face; it seems a goal by the filmmakers to show the children's attempt to maintain a fairy tale view of their world.
At the same time, the colour chosen to contrast with purple is green, the primary colour used whenever the children either venture or are taken outside of the grounds of the Magic Castle. It creates this sense of natural reality, a contrast with the fantasy offered by the purple. The real world is dangerous, the real world is a struggle, the real world is something that, when we are sheltered from it and then exposed to it, we want to run away from: it's a really strong visual theme that is integral throughout the entire film. As events happen in the film, they are framed by either one of these colours, or in pivotal scenes, both. It's a clever and well-executed way of maintaining tone and theme, one that fits perfectly with the film's many little conflicts. A scene involving the children causing light mayhem in the purple Magic Castle sees consequences turn to fun and more friends, but the same sort of mischief is met with very real and dangerous consequences in the green real world. Children are shielded by real world compromises and problems in the purple, but just a few steps outside they're in danger of being taken by a paedophile. The movie is very real and shows so well the whimsy of children juxtaposed against the defensive efforts of adults.
The Short Version: The Florida Project is a fantastic character study of children and the things done to protect them. Its performances are real, its attention to character focus and colour are incredibly detailed, and its deviation from traditional narrative allows for simple yet powerful character moments framed by the perspective of a child.
Rating: 9/10
Published December 26th, 2017
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