ReelBob: ‘The Florida Project’ ★★★½
By Bob Bloom
The key to appreciating Sean Baker’s “The Florida Project” rests partly in the dedication at the end of the film, which includes nods to Hal Roach and George “Spanky” McFarland.
For those too young to recognize those names, Hal Roach ran the studio that, in the 1920s and 1930s, produced the classic comedy shorts of Laurel & Hardy and those of the Little Rascals.
The best known of those kids was “Spanky,” who started with the Rascals when he was about 3 or 4 years old in the early 1930s and stayed with the various incarnations of the group into the early 1940s when MGM took over the kids’ shorts from Roach and renamed the group Our Gang.
Forgive me for the lengthy explanation, but it is a necessary backdrop in talking about “The Florida Project.”
Baker’s film, which he also wrote and edited, centers on a trio of children, about 6 or 7 years old, who live with their parents in near poverty not far from Disney World.
But that magical amusement park could be on the other side of the planet as far as little Moonee and her friends are concerned.
Moonee lives with her single mom in The Magic Castle, a rundown motel in which those on the fringes of society rent rooms on a week-to-week basis.
The area around The Magic Castle and other similar establishments serve as the playground for Moonee, Jancey and Scooty. They basically run wild in the streets and strip malls that dot the landscape.
They beg tourists for money to buy ice cream, they explore abandoned houses in the area and sass the adults around them — especially Bobby, The Magic Castle’s manager, played by Willem Dafoe, who gives strongly gentle and honest performance.
And, like the Little Rascals before them, they don’t realize — or even care — about their precarious financial situations. They are kids, whose main focus every day is creating games and adventures to amuse themselves.
“The Florida Project’s” main attraction — and joy — are the performances of Brooklyn Prince as Moonee, Valeria Cotto as Jancey and Christopher Rivera as Scooty.
They are crudely adorable in flipping off, being rude and disrespectful to cashiers, servers, tourists and whoever they perceive as wanting to impede them.
The performances by the children, especially Prince, are magical and unforgettable. You will think of them long after you leave the theater.
Yet, you can’t help but want to draw them close, despite their questionable behavior, to embrace and protect them.
These kids are streetwise, roaming unafraid and unconcerned.
What is interesting is how Baker creates an aura in which you fear something awful is going to happen to these tykes. It keeps tiptoeing toward that line, but … .
No, I won’t go there. You will have to see for yourself.
“The Florida Project” is an experience I don’t want to ruin for anyone. It’s a film that the less you know about it, the more satisfying it will be.
Do I have any quibbles with the film? Sure, a couple, but they pale in my overall admiration for it.
If you see only one movie this year, “The Florida Project” should be it.
I am a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.
THE FLORIDA PROJECT
3½ stars out of 4
(R), disturbing behavior, drug use, sexual references, language