Simply innocent and beautiful.
The movie trailer was not that intriguing nor give us much of background information. Without knowing anything beforehand, I watched the movie graciously.
The movie was set in Florida’s touristy area in summer, most likely around Disneyland. What fascinated me the first time is the bright purple color of motel where main characters, Moonee and her (young) mom Halley, live. It gave me happy and dreamy mood especially because we know it was taken during summer.
The dreamy feeling changed after we started to see the life of people who live there. It was kind of humble and most of them are overstuffed. The live behind each door on the motel (/apartment) had their own story, as told by Moonee when she showed her new friend her around. From that small introduction we kind of get the big picture of the live within the movie.
Most of the movie is taken around the kids activities. Moonee’s friendship with her friends were slow and natural. But you can tell when you watch the movie. Moonee relationship with her friends and how natural selection left Jancey to be her last friend survived, showed so much about her mother, Halley’s relationship with everybody else in the motel. Moonee is the reflection of Halley’s.
After all, this movie is actually about Halley’s life. As a single young mother struggle to feed Moonee, Halley worked her best while also being a girl ‘who just wanna have fun’. As subjective point of view, there is some part of me that are annoyed by her rebellious attitude, but as I am watching Moonee’s free spirited attitude, I couldn’t hate Halley as a character. Because again, Moonee is Halley.
Going back to the setting and art direction. The bright purple color motel, Halley’s hair color, Moonee and Jancey long hair, unique shaped shops. All seems like a wonderland.
It seems like the kids were doing awesome adventure in their perfect world. Perfect world for them would be lots of fun with friends and exploring new stuff. On the other hand, adulthood are full of struggle and conflict. Two different worlds in one setting.
The ending of this movie is an amazing revelation. I couldn’t picture better ending than what they have now.
In the nutshell, The Florida Project shows two different perspective that intersect in a unique way. Great analogies and references. Highly recommend especially for those who do not like kids (yet).
