While director Sean Baker’s last film Tangerine (2015) got lots of buzz at festivals around the world, most of its coverage surrounded the fact it was shot on an iPhone 5S and not the fact that it was a really great film that dived deep into the world of trans sex workers in LA. The most shocking thing about his latest picture, entitled The Florida Project; is the fact that a woman that the director found on Instagram in her first acting role and a literal six year old managed to deliver performances opposite Willem Dafoe and that not only hold up but equally match him.
A powerful performance told from a playground perspective
While Dafoe’s name may appear first in the credits, the real star of the film is Brooklynn Kimberly Prince, who plays Moonee, the aforementioned six year old whom we spend most of the film following. A lot of the film is shot from low angles to match her perspective, giving everything a sense of wonder and fun, especially in the scenes where Moonee is just hanging out with her friends doing kid stuff like pooling their money to buy an ice cream and exploring their very colourful neighbourhood.
Her performance is easily the best thing about the film, in both funny moments, like when she calls a woman a ‘thot’ and a ‘bee-otch’ after spitting on her car, and in emotional moments such as the climactic scene, which doesn’t just tug at the heartstrings but rips them out of your chest and completely sold me on Prince as a star in waiting.
A resonating and poignant take on poverty
The Florida Project takes place over a summer in the shadow of Disneyland, where brightly coloured motels with names like The Magic Castle house some of the state’s poorest residents, who live week to week not knowing where the money for their rent is going to come from. We see Moonee’s blunt smoking mother Hailey (Bria Vinaite) buying perfume wholesale and attempting to flog it outside the hotels where affluent tourists stay in order to gather enough money to pay the bills. Her attempts to get money eventually turn seedier but she never loses our empathy as its very obvious how much she values Moonee.
Dafoe is great as the manager of the motel, Bobby, who plays a somewhat paternal role to both Hailey and Moonee. Both drive him mad in their own way with Moonee pulling pranks on him and other residents and Hailey often being late with her rent and always being involved in some drama that he often has to diffuse. These dramas don’t really link up into one traditional story but that’s part of what makes the film feel so realistic and raw. It feels very modern too, like you’re watching a documentary filmed over the summer just gone, with OTT Florida trap beats blaring through iPhone speakers making up most of the diegetic music.
The Verdict
The Florida Project’s more traditional production should refocus the conversation on just how great Baker’s films are. I overheard someone in the lobby of the cinema making an apt comparison between Sean Baker and Ken Loach, director of films such as the Palme d’Or winning I, Daniel Blake (2016) which similarly details the lives of those in marginalised communities. If Baker continues in this mould and at this level of quality there’s no doubt he’ll be spoken of in the same way and equally lauded for his excellent work.
Rating: 9/10
Words by Jack Hollis