The Florida Project (Home Re-Release) | The Deight Night Review
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| The Florida Project (2017, Sean Baker, A24) |
After over a decade of mastering his raw, grounded film-making style mostly exploring the various branches of the sex work industry, Sean Baker finally won his first directing Oscar in this year's awards ceremony for his twisted romantic comedy, Anora. However, the film of his that first caught the attention of the film world and properly started the journey to his overwhelming Oscar success was The Florida Project, released in 2017 to a similarly positive critic response to Anora. The film takes place on the outskirts of Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, where life is far from the dreamscape of magic and fun that occurs inside the walls of Mickey's theme park kingdom. In a large motel, Moonee (Brooklynn Prince), a child barely out of pre-school lives with her young mother, Halley (Bria Vianite), in a small room designed only for a short stay where they have settled for the foreseeable future. Making the most of her surroundings, Moonee enjoys her summer break with her friends, Scooty (Christopher Rivera) and Jancey (Valeria Cotto), creating mischief and grief, especially for the motel's manager, Bobby (Willem Dafoe). All the while, Halley desperately tries to get by and hide Moonee from their sheer destitution.
Like many of Sean Baker's projects, The Florida Project's greatest strength lies in its commitment to the reality of poverty and what affects that has on someone's life. It does this in a way that's not melancholic or saccharin, there's no scene where Halley takes a moment to hug the wall to cry over how desperate she is. Both her and Moonee make the most of what they have and sometimes it's an absolute joy to watch the world through their eyes. With the beautiful cinematography showing off the sunkissed landscapes of America's sunshine state, the film sometimes makes this quite hard life look somewhat simple and idyllic. However, this is of course contrasted with the sad reality of their day-to-day lives; sneaking into hotels to steal buffet meals, selling wholesale perfume on resort car parks and eating plain pizza because that's all they can afford.
The Florida Project dives deep into the struggle of America's downtrodden classes like no other film really has in this decade, and as a result it's a catastrophically human film that's as true to the term "slice of life" as any film has ever been. With a cast filled with novice actors, Sean Baker brings his characters to life like no other director working today can. With barely any recognisable faces, Moonee and Halley feel truly real thanks to the tender and sincere performances of Prince and Viante who drag you into their world of blind optimism and cold desperation. The biggest star of the film, Willem Dafoe, known mostly for his crazy and outlandish characters, gives one of the most grounded and sympathetic performances of his career. He shows a man who's never had a day off, stressed constantly and always putting out fires wherever he goes, this man is the polar opposite to Norman Osborn or Eric Masters but yet is still just as easy to watch. It's clear from this example of Baker's earlier work that he's always had a talent for getting fantastically true performances out of his actors and it's a crime that he wasn't recognised for it until eight years later.
Like many a slice of life film, The Florida Project, prioritises the flow of each day, fully immersing you in the characters' world, rather than the flow of a story or plot. There very much is a story and it's an absolutely gut-wrenchingly tragic one, but its threads are woven thinly throughout the fabric of the film's overall mission of depicting the contrasting lives of those staying outside Disney World compared to those staying within. As a result, the film can sometimes slow down and isn't always the most engaging to follow. What's more, the ending's heart is in the right place and makes the film's message very clear, however, the way it's delivered is in such stark contrast to the rest of the film that it gives you whiplash.
The Florida Project is a brutally stark portrait of life in poverty brought to the screen by a director who was always clearly destined for greatness and a magnificently talented cast of up and comers. It's blissfully hopeful and depressingly hopeless all at the same time. It's tragedy and beauty will stay with you for a lifetime, even if the film's pace and ending won't be the right fit for some.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Florida Project Limited Edition 4K UHD/Blu Ray set will be on sale October 13th
Special Features include:
- Dual format three-disc edition including one UHD and two Blu-rays with main feature and bonus features on both formats
- Over 4.5 hours of new bonus material
- New 4K master produced and approved by Director Sean Baker
- UHD presented in Dolby Vision HDR
- New audio commentary with Sean Baker, co-writer Chris Bergoch and director of photography Alexis Zabé
- New audio commentary by Kat Ellinger and Martyn Conterio
- Success Story: a new interview with Sean Baker
- Playing Within the Frame: a new interview with actor Willem Dafoe
- A Transformative Experience: a new interview with actor Bria Vinaite
- The Kids: a new interview with actors Brooklynn Kimberly Prince, Valeria Cotto and Christopher Rivera
- Origin Story: a new interview with actor Brooklynn Kimberly Prince
- True Friendship: a new interview with actor Valeria Cotto
- Overusing Freedom: a new interview with actor Christopher Rivera
- Embrace the Chaos: a new interview with co-writer Chris Bergoch
- Clearing the Brush: a new interview with producer Andrew Duncan
- A Different Way of Shooting: a new interview with producers Kevin Chinoy and Francesca Silvestri
- A Sense of Imagination: a new interview with associate producer Samantha Quan
- Hotel to Home: a new interview with executive director of Community Hope Centre Rev. Mary Downey
- Streets of 192: a new interview with casting coordinator Patti Wiley
- Back to the Castle: On location with Brooklynn Kimberly Prince, Valeria Cotto and Christopher Rivera
- Wretched Splendour: Rohan Spong on The Florida Project
- Under the Rainbow – Making The Florida Project
- Archive Cast & Crew Interviews
- Bloopers & Outtakes
- Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Michael Dunabin
- 160-page hardback book with new essays by Tim Coleman, Martyn Conterio, Elena Lazic, Hannah McGill, Dawn Stronski and Nadine Whitney plus on-set photo gallery
