Review of The Florida Project (2017) by Philip D — 28 Apr 2018

When the opening scene began, I found myself feeling irritated, frustrated, and angry. Irritating children. Where are the parents? And, what have I got myself into? I fell into the trap. As the movie progressed, I remained irritated, but found myself looking for the reasons the children were so misbehaved, unruly, ill-mannered, and rude.

Then I started to feel sorry for the children and a sense of relief that they really had no clue that the lives they were living bordered on nomadic. I felt a sense of hurt for the parents and wondered about the situations that had brought them to where they were (The Magic Castle).

Except for Halley. I felt anger and contempt throughout most of the movie for her. I wanted her to own up to her responsibility as a parent, as an adult. This roller coaster ride of feelings lasted throughout the whole movie.

At times I felt myself getting lost in the simple activities of the children, but then I was drawn right back into the struggles faced by the adults (self-created or not self-created). As the movie came closer to ending, I wanted to find the silver-lining.

I wanted to get a sense that Halley would finally grow-up. I wanted to know that Moonee and her band of friends were somehow going to have a chance at better lives (Whatever that means). The movie didn't deliver these endings to me.

Instead, it delivered the ending that it could and it left me wondering, feeling, trying to rationalize or wipe away some of the feelings, and trying to hold on to and embellish others. Because of this.

..because of the ability of a film to do this to me, I would have to say that the director, the screenwriter, the cinematographer, and the actors (young and old alike) did their job and a nice job at that.

I'm not going to be able to shake off what I saw and I'm not going to be able to conveniently put it away on a shelf because of a red-ribbon wrapped ending (happy, sad, or otherwise).