film review – The Florida Project

I got free tickets to see the film – The Florida Project from a small ad in the Evening Standard.

 

It’s a story about a single mum who lives in a motel behind all the Florida theme parks. What did I think of it?  It was a bit slow but the two main characters were very believable.  You saw how children can make the best out of anything and how resourceful the mum was. They found happiness in small things.  I am going to Florida next year and it made me feel a bit depressed about the place.  The landscape was largely soulless with a relentless dual carriageway.

This is what my friend thought.

I have read a bit more about the movie, and see that while most was filmed on 35mm, that last scene at Disneyland was shot on an iPhone, unofficially.  I thought Willem Dafoe, as the only proper film star, was a bit wooden with his steady guy with a heart of gold offer to make up the ten bucks for the hotel bill, refused by the horrible Indian lady, and ritual chasing off of the caricature paedophile.  The only other male character of any note was Scooter, the subsequently grounded fire raiser.  Brilliant and convincing work by Bria Vinaite and the rest of the cast, I thought.  Really good review/interview about it all in the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/oct/29/bria-vinaite-florida-project-interview