The Florida Project (2017)

[Guestx]

Anyone seen this movie? I just finished it.

It's getting a lot of critical acclaim. 96% on RT. 8.8 average critic rating. It also has a 79% audience score on RT and a 7.9 on IMDB.

But I am really not sure how I feel about it.

I can tell you that I didn't finish it all in one go. I felt much of the film was slow and not especially interesting. Most of the characters weren't especially likable. And yet, I'm glad I watched it and I think it was an interesting experience.

It is VERY indie. It feels nothing like a Hollywood film at all. Not sure how many of you saw American Honey a couple of years ago but in a lot of ways this feels like 2017's American Honey. The style, tone and themes are all similar.

For anyone who's never heard of The Florida Project, here's the premise from IMDB but I'm not sure how well it actually describes the film:

Set over one summer, the film follows precocious six-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Disney World.

It's also very much about poverty and how a lot of people out there are just surviving day to day.

It stars Willem Defoe and a bunch of unknowns, many of whom had never acted before.

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

From the trailer I think kids dont act that way

 

[Guestx]

From the trailer I think kids dont act that way

Mmm, I dunno. I felt like the performances were very naturalistic and that it was probably a pretty accurate representation of how kids act when they're not really raised right and spend much of their daily lives unsupervised and just hanging out with other kids.

 

[DaleBoca]

Was that William Dafoe? I’m a fan of his.

 

[Guestx]

Was that William Dafoe? I’m a fan of his.

Spoiler

In the original post are words, and if you read those words they will tell you things about the film.

 

[DaleBoca]

Spoiler

In the original post are words, and if you read those words they will tell you things about the film.

Hey, when I see a video and text, I go running to the video.

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

So I'm sitting down to watch this movie and my first thoughts are

Uhh how the hell is this a 2 hour film. From the subject matter and the kids I figured 80-90 minutes tops

Dont know if I'm going to be able to hang through 2 hours of this

 

[Guestx]

So I'm sitting down to watch this movie and my first thoughts are

Uhh how the hell is this a 2 hour film. From the subject matter and the kids I figured 80-90 minutes tops

Dont know if I'm going to be able to hang through 2 hours of this

I'd say just power through if you feel like it's slow. Like I said, I'm ambivalent on my feelings about the film but I think it deserves a full viewing.

Also, it's just as much about the adults as it is the kids.

 

[ICHEERTHEBULL]

Loved this film! Without giving anything away there is a scene towards the end where the acting from one of the kids was just amazing. Defoe's character was great. I thought the constant helicopters in the background was a nice touch in a haves vs have nots kinda way.

I found it depressing but heart warming at the same time.

 

[Guestx]

Loved this film! Without giving anything away there is a scene towards the end where the acting from one of the kids was just amazing. Defoe's character was great.

I found it depressing but heart warming at the same time.

Agreed on the acting in that scene. That kid somehow finds a way to really flip the switch. Until that moment I really wasn't sure she had it in her.

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

Characters in this movie are extremely unlikable

I'm sorry but fuck these people and the kids.

William Dafoe is the nice guy that gets taken advantage of by these wastes of space

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

So what she takes "Swimsuit selfies" with the kid and sells them for rent money?

Nice

 

[Guestx]

Characters in this movie are extremely unlikable

I'm sorry but fuck these people and the kids.

William Dafoe is the nice guy that gets taken advantage of by these wastes of space

Agreed on the characters. That was my response as well.

They're unlikable, but you get glimmers of goodness. Even though in many ways the mother isn't a good mother, for instance, she still at least loves her kid and finds a way to provide for her.

I saw the film as a challenge to the viewer to empathize with people who often fail to give you reasons to really give a shit. It's a call to find one's humanity.

 

[Guestx]

So what she takes "Swimsuit selfies" with the kid and sells them for rent money?

Nice

Wait . . . is that what she took those pics for?

I guess I missed that part.

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

Wait . . . is that what she took those pics for?

I guess I missed that part.

Well I am trying to wrap my head around it

She takes the pictures and less than a minute later(screen time) she has rent money

The way its edited implied it to me but I might be wrong. Movie isn't over yet so it might be explained

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

This is not a good movie

Nothing happens and by that I mean its like watching people living in a motel. They watch tv, do laundry, pay rent and do drugs. This is not a movie...this is just stupid boring things people do and its 2 hours of that shit. Most other scenes in the movie are just the kids harassing tenants of the motel. Let me stress that these kids do not do anything likable in the entire film....they spit on people, burn houses down, and are just disrespectful to any adult figure. The fact they they are such little demons makes the ending of the film fall flat in my opinion. The director of the movie has an ending where he wants you to feel sympathy for the kid but he forget to make the kid likable first

William Dafoe to me is the only likable thing about the movie. The scene with him and the grandpa was the standout for me.

96% of RT is shocking

 

[Guestx]

This is not a good movie

Nothing happens and by that I mean its like watching people living in a motel. They watch tv, do laundry, pay rent and do drugs. This is not a movie...this is just stupid boring things people do and its 2 hours of that shit. Most other scenes in the movie are just the kids harassing tenants of the motel. Let me stress that these kids do not do anything likable in the entire film....they spit on people, burn houses down, and are just disrespectful to any adult figure. The fact they they are such little demons makes the ending of the film fall flat in my opinion. The director of the movie has an ending where he wants you to feel sympathy for the kid but he forget to make the kid likable first

William Dafoe to me is the only likable thing about the movie. The scene with him and the grandpa was the standout for me.

96% of RT is shocking

Well I'm glad you at least stuck it out.

I can see why you feel as you do. I agree that everyone could've been a lot more likable, but I think the director was going for a heavy dose of reality here. And like I said earlier, I think he also meant for it to be a challenge to the viewer to find a sense of caring for these people IN SPITE of what assholes they often are.

Another thing I found interesting was just how goddamn un-Hollywood the movie feels. It defies the usual conventions of storytelling to instead deliver a slice of life, or a snapshot, of the lives of a certain sub-culture (a sub-culture that apparently really exists in Orlando according to an article I read earlier).

I mentioned in the OP that this film in some ways reminds me of American Honey. Did you ever see that one? A lot more happens in that movie than this one but the style and subject matter is similar. Very naturalistic acting and camerawork, with largely untrained actors, depicting young people in the throes of poverty but just rolling with it and finding a way to make it work.

Like Florida Project, I wasn't exactly in love with American Honey. But also like this film, I was happen to have seen it once.

It also stars Shia LeGOAT.

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

Well I'm glad you at least stuck it out.

I can see why you feel as you do. I agree that everyone could've been a lot more likable, but I think the director was going for a heavy dose of reality here. And like I said earlier, I think he also meant for it to be a challenge to the viewer to find a sense of caring for these people IN SPITE of what assholes they often are.

Another thing I found interesting was just how goddamn un-Hollywood the movie feels. It defies the usual conventions of storytelling to instead deliver a slice of life, or a snapshot, of the lives of a certain sub-culture (a sub-culture that apparently really exists in Orlando according to an article I read earlier).

I mentioned in the OP that this film in some ways reminds me of American Honey. Did you ever see that one? A lot more happens in that movie than this one but the style and subject matter is similar. Very naturalistic acting and camerawork, with largely untrained actors, depicting young people in the throes of poverty but just rolling with it and finding a way to make it work.

Like Florida Project, I wasn't exactly in love with American Honey. But also like this film, I was happen to have seen it once.

It also stars Shia LeGOAT.

The movie gave me severe anxiety at many points

It was difficult to watch

 

[Guestx]

The movie gave me severe anxiety at many points

It was difficult to watch

Which one?

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

Which one?

The movie itself

Just the vibe and how the pacing was. It was not an easy movie to watch and I had to smoke lots of weed to finish it