When I headed home for summer, the top movie to watch on my list was The Florida Project, directed by Sean Baker. I hadn’t heard much about the movie at all before the Oscar nominations, and I didn’t hear much about it after. It wasn’t until I had a few friends specifically tell me that I needed to see the film that I purchased it on Amazon Prime.
The movie is an oddly plotless, beautiful display of the day-to-day life of families living in a welfare motel just a few miles away from Disney World in Orlando, Florida, specifically focused on one mother and daughter.
To me, this movie was nothing short of spectacular. In assessing the film’s specific qualities that made it the work of art that it was, one main thing comes to mind: the acting.
The lead character, Halley, is a young, irresponsible, and troubled single mother living in the motel with her daughter, Mooney. Halley’s character is portrayed by Bria Vinaite, a 25-year-old non-actor who Sean Baker chose for the lead role via her Instagram account. While watching the film, it isn’t hard to tell that Vinaite doesn’t come from an acting background—though I didn’t know this until after I’d watched it—because often the acting seems a bit unfamiliar on her end. But something about the fact that she’s shaky and unpredictable as an actor makes the viewer feel more open to her character, and by the end, you’re feeling far more connected and involved in her development. After finding her on social media, I’ve observed that her persona in real life is quite similar to the role she plays on set. I believe that Baker intended to create the rawest version of this mother figure that he could, by taking a real person and inserting her into a fictional story.
The hotel manager, played by Willem Dafoe, is an exceptional character defined by his pride in taking care of the tenants as well as his harsh attitude and tenacity. Originally a theater actor, Dafoe profoundly embodies and authentically grows into his character, Bobby. The way he so determinedly protects Halley and Mooney is part of his selfless being; he lives his entire life making close to no money at a welfare hotel. He lives and breathes his character, and it’s clear from his intense, dramatized acting that he comes from a theater background, making his character all the more wonderful to watch.
The cinematography of The Florida Project also enhances the incredible acting on screen. Every shot of the movie is filmed from what’s supposed to look like the child’s perspective. Understanding a child’s innocence in relation to hardened life events is the key part of this movie that drives its beauty. The director realizes that kids perceive harsh realities in a starkly different manner than those directly involved, so he focuses the camera on the way children react, rather than what is going on between the main characters in the scene.
If you’ve been trying to decide which of this past year’s films to watch, this is the one. It will have you in tears throughout as you are whisked away, captured by the acting and cinematography that bring it to life.
COVER PHOTO: Indie Wire
About Ella Swimmer
Ella Swimmer is a senior from Santa Monica, CA. This adventurous Economics major spends her time dancing to hip-hop, practicing yoga, bingeing music and traveling.
Ella Swimmer is a senior from Santa Monica, CA. This adventurous Economics major spends her time dancing to hip-hop, practicing yoga, bingeing music and traveling.
