There Is Dark in the Sunshine State

“The Florida Project” Movie Review

Photo by Kelly Sikke on Unsplash

The innocence behind a child's eyes makes the worst seem not all that bad. In the movie, “The Florida Project” Moonee, the main character, lives in a motel with her friends Scooty and Bertha as well as her mother Halley. The show shines a light on the neglect and poverty Monnee, a six-year-old girl, faces. In the movie, she makes the life that many people would never want, seem enjoyable. “The Florida Project” has amazing acting that makes the audience feel every emotion. The character development truly progressed in many different ways in the movie and the plot was overall spectacular.

“The Florida Project” was released on Oct. 17, 2017, but starting this year, many people are watching it again and it is gaining increasing popularity. The movie tells a story that an audience wouldn’t typically see in the average Hollywood movie. Monnee lives her life as normal but as the movie continues, the audiences realize the sadness that is behind a young girl's eyes. All the gain in popularity again is earned by the amazing acting of each character in the movie.

Moonee, played by Brooklyn Prince, won a Critics Choice award for best young acting because of her part in “The Florida Project.” Each character in the movie did an amazing job of making each scene feel real. Bria Vinaite who plays Halley the abusive mom in the movies does an amazing job of making the audience hate her but at the same time feel bad for her. In multiple scenes, the mother is doing inappropriate things but with the intention of trying to make a better life with her daughter. The other kids in the movie did a fantastic job at acting, Christopher Rivera and Rosa Medina Perez who played Scooty and Bertha, really made the audience sympathize for them. Each actor plays a kid who is not very fortunate but at the same time does not know it due to being shielded by their innocence which is a difficult thing to pull off. Finally, the acting given by Willem Dafoe who played Bobby was incredible. He played the owner of the motel in the movie and he did an amazing job of making the audience love him but also hate him. 

The character development in the movie was phenomenal. Not all characters had a positive character development, such as Halley. She develops negatively, but still makes the audience get to know her better and feel for her. Bobby by far has the best development. At the beginning of the show, he is seen as a person who does not really care about the kids and dislikes them but in the end, the audience finds out that he is just looking out for them. Everyone in the show developed in some way, some characters more than others, but all in the end make the audience feel for them. 

The plot is amazing and unexpected. Many movies do not focus on poverty and the bad things that kids go through, however, this movie accomplishes that. It shows that kids have emotions and do not always understand what is wrong and what is right. Throughout the movie, there were multiple plots, but the most dominant of them was that the kids are innocent but always knew of what was going on around them.

“The Florida Project” is overall an amazing movie with great acting and a great plot. Every person should watch it on Netflix to give it the appreciation that it deserves. It shows a deeper meaning and is a universally liked movie. So watch it and feel.

<Star Rating>

Acting: ★★★★☆

Character development: ★★★☆☆

Plot: ★★★★★

Overall: ★★★★☆