Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (February 13, 2025)
Given its title, one might expect 2017’s The Florida Project to offer a sci-fi flick or some kind of documentary. Instead, it brings a drama about people living below the poverty line.
Set in Kissimmee close to Walt Disney World, we meet residents of the Magic Castle, a rundown motel that houses poor and homeless folks. Single mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) struggles to make ends meet for herself and six-year-old daughter Moonee (Brookylynn Prince).
Despite the facility’s seedy state, Moonee views it as a wonderland of adventure. While she attempts to enjoy an unsullied childhood, the reality of Halley’s desperate stabs at survival inevitably intrude.
I went into Project with only one film from writer/director Sean Baker under my belt: 2021’s Red Rocket. While I took some positives from that movie, in general I found it to be aimless and slow.
I also didn’t love Baker’s decision to use non-actors in many key roles. Even in a cast without any “names”, these performers damaged the movie.
Given that Project does feature a notable actor via Willem Dafoe, this issue seemed even more likely to backfire here. If the non-professionals looked bad compared to the less-than-stunning talent of Simon Rex in Red Rocket, how could they hope to compete with a legend like Dafoe?
They couldn’t, as Dafoe acts rings around the rest of the cast. Nonetheless, they hold up better than did the amateurs of Red Rocket, so the non-professional performers don’t turn into a drag on the material here.
Don’t expect a particularly plot-driven affair from Project, as it feels more like a visual diary than a true story. We basically follow Moonee, Hallee and Magic Castle manager Bobby Hicks (Dafoe) as they lead their lives.
While I thought Red Rocket lacked much of a narrative, it looks tight and concise compared to the essentially plot-free Project. Although the movie comes with developments, these don’t turn into a true story.
To my surprise, though, I found myself less put off by the absence of a real tale here than I did with Rocket. Perhaps some of that comes from the fact I went into Rocket with no foreknowledge of Baker’s MO but I entered Project “warned” to anticipate this sort of loose cinematic endeavor.
Whatever the case, Project becomes more compelling in its loose way, partly because Baker doesn’t go out of his way to give us likable characters. Though Halley and Moonee seem inherently sympathetic due to their plight, they tend to feel awfully tough to embrace.
Indeed, Moonee and her pals immediately come across as obnoxious and horrible. They use profanity, spit on cars and seem totally charmless.
Halley doesn’t exactly offer a model parent either, as she seems largely MIA from the guidance Moonee needs. For instance, we see Moonee and friends allowed to wander wherever they’d like along a busy – and dangerous - commercial highway.
Bobby provides the only decent person of the bunch, though this impression may result more from Dafoe’s skills as an actor than from the role as written. With his years in movies, Dafoe could find nuance in the part than the much less experienced Vinaite and Prince could.
The movie spends more time with Bobby than one would expect, and I suspect that also stems from the casting choices. Because Dafoe can carry the movie more adroitly than his rookie colleagues, it makes sense for Baker to add to his screen time.
However, this can give the film an odd imbalance since it really seems like it should focus on Halley and Moonee to the exclusion of pretty much everything else. Bobby simply doesn’t offer an especially compelling character, whereas the struggling mother and daughter offer more inherent drama.
That said, Dafoe’s nimble performance helps ground the tale. Without so much of him, I believe the amateurish performances of the others would make Project more difficult to take.
As it stands, Project becomes only sporadically compelling as is given the lack of real narrative. While the slice of life adds a sense of verisimilitude, it tends not to go much of anywhere.
Nonetheless, Baker finds just enough natural drama in the plight of Halley and Moonee to keep the effort above water. Indeed, we see an awful lot of seediness on display, as the movie involves prostitution, theft and various scams.
As unlikable as they may feel, Halley and Moonee also come across as more real than their counterparts in Red Rocket. That adds a dimension that helps keep the film engaging.
Like Rocket, Project concludes with a sequence that mixes melodrama and fantasy, one that comes across as an odd cop-out after the roughness of all that preceded it. Even with that misstep, though, the movie manages to create a moderately involving portrait of life on the economic edges.
