Review of The Florida Project (2017) by Chesterftof — 11 Feb 2018

Of all of the Awards Season hopefuls going into the Oscars, this one seems to be getting snubbed the hardest. At least, that’s what I’d heard going in to this particular film. The Florida Project has received only one Oscar nod (for Willem Defoe’s supporting role). Much to my surprise, however, I agree with it’s singular nomination, however I would have liked to see it get a nod for it’s cinematography, also.

As an antisocial person, I feel this film unintentionally captures my general outlook on the world, so in a way, I can derive my own meaning from it. The parts I enjoy greatly feature almost no people. The cinematography is astoundingly gorgeous, and the locations, however bleak they may be, are beautiful in their desolation. The lighting looked very natural and as a result, many of the scenes felt rather intimate, almost mirroring real life. This effect would have been accomplished perfectly, if it weren’t for the main issue I had with the film: the performances.

The characters, which many have claimed to be one of the defining features of the picture, almost ruined the film for me entirely. With a cast weighing heavily with children, however, The Florida Project was fighting an uphill battle to win my favour. I don’t know why I seem to despise both children, and child actors, but regardless, the only performance I didn’t mind in recent memory was Dafne Keen’s Laura, featured within Logan. Still, having heard the rave reviews before going in, I was actually hopeful. Those whom I was with at the time seemed incredibly pleased with the performances, commenting on how good they were multiple times throughout the film. I was less than impressed. Right from the first scene, I found them grating. Not only are the performances (in my opinion!!) lacking, the characters themselves are infuriating. The children are written to be obnoxiously loud, and terribly rude. I completely understand why this is, but regardless, it doesn’t make it any less painful for a viewer such as myself.

Bria Vinaite is giving her first performance in a film. She was actually an instagram model, with no prior experience. Again, I completely understand why this casting decision was made, and I actually agree with it for the most part. Still, I felt her lack of experience was hard to ignore. Caleb Landry Jones (whom, might I add, has had a wonderful year in cinema: This, Three Billboards outside of Ebbing, Missouri, Get Out, and American Made) is barely in the film long enough to notice. I can remember two scenes, in which he does barely anything. The one performance which I actually enjoyed was Willem Defoe (which is rather odd to me as I can still only picture him as the Green Goblin). He plays Bobby, who is the one likeable character within the film. Naturally, he is the one character who is almost entirely pointless.

I understand he’s a sort of morale compass, and he seems to legitimately care for these demon-spawn children, but ultimately none of his scenes equate to anything of importance. That’s a theme that runs through the film: pointlessness. Early in the film, you can tell where the plot will go. Still, it takes it’s time, meandering through scene after scene, rarely impacting the next. When the emotional climax finally came, I was so detached from the characters, I felt nothing but lacklustre contentedness that the characters would be better off than when they started.

Straight after watching the film, I think I would have given it a 6/10. It was visually stunning despite showing very little of interest. Having had time to reflect, however, I feel I am generous in giving it a 5/10. All I took from it was the visuals, and a single serviceable character with a great performance behind it. I completely understand why many people enjoy this film, and I’m glad that it’s found it’s audience. Unfortunately, I am not a part of it.