The Florida Project

Rewatched to prepare for Anora. I don’t know what I was thinking with my first ranking…this is a 5 ⭐️ film.  I haven’t watched it since seeing it in theaters, and I think that was self-preservational.  The last ten minutes are just tears streaming, but this rewatch, 7 years later, was especially rewarding.   Perfect combination of performances and setting.   This is my favorite Willem Dafoe performance, and that’s saying something because he has a lot of great ones.  He should have won Supporting Actor (if 3 Billboards has no haters, I’m dead).  The mother/daughter chemistry between Bria and Brooklynn is beautiful to watch, even as one character makes desperate, ill-advised decisions.   Setting the film in Orlando, on the outskirts of the “happiest place on Earth,” is brilliant.  To keep up with the theme of the parks, a lot of the businesses go for whimsical but everything’s just a shade off.   But old condos and cows and fireworks from parking lots can be magical for kids.   I’m just happy to be alive in a time when Sean Baker’s making movies.