The Florida Project (2017)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  8 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: 'The Florida Project,' is a real lesson in how to build a brilliant social commentary, as it does so through the membrane of a simple and properly engaging character story. Indeed, in placing its social issues at the heart of something that feels personal and relatable, what you get is a film that translates its messages far more effectively and works as an engaging and emotional experience. This is largely thanks to Sean Baker's excellent script and direction that acts gently and playfully without ramming itself down your throat, as well as the performances where meaningful and layered characters are built equally by veteran Willem Dafoe and newcomers Bria Vinaite and Brooklynn Prince. Couple that with the story's integral themes as well as the backdrop of its spurious Disney paradise (photographed brilliantly by Alexis Zabe - not on an iPhone 5S this time like Baker's comedic debut Tangerine) and this winds up not only one of the most important films of the year, but also one of the most emotionally rewarding and engaging.
  
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: There's not much of a narrative (which does make the film difficult to conclude) but that's not really the point of a character study like this.
  
  VERDICT: 'The Florida Project,' and its important social portrayals will stick with you for a long time. That's not just because the film is eye-opening in its own right, but because once you've left the theatre, you feel as though you've been folded into the fabric of the lives on screen, and that these characters are as real as their deep-routed problems that exist throughout the world.

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