The Florida Project (2017)

The Florida Project (2017) is a raw, tender drama set over a single summer at a rundown motel on the commercial strip outside Walt Disney World. Through the wide-eyed eyes of six-year-old Moonee and her close-knit group of friends, the film balances exuberant, often hilarious childhood mischief with the grim realities of poverty and precarious adulthood embodied by Moonee’s mother, Halley, and the beleaguered motel manager, Bobby. Seeing the movie, you’ll experience a striking contrast: sun-soaked, neon-bright visuals and the spontaneous energy of kids at play, framed alongside intimate, unvarnished scenes of survival and desperation. The filmmaking is observational and immediate—handheld camerawork and naturalistic performances pull you close to the characters, so their small joys, petty rebellions, and mounting tensions feel immediate and unavoidable. Emotionally, the film is a mix of delight and ache. You’ll laugh at the kids’ inventiveness and be moved by moments of genuine warmth, yet also feel growing discomfort and sorrow as the adults’ choices and systemic pressures threaten the fragile safety of that childhood bubble. Themes of innocence, resilience, and the moral complexity of parenting under strain run through the story without heavy-handed judgment. Overall, The Florida Project is an affecting, beautifully shot portrait that makes you see both the wonder of childhood and the human cost of living on the margins. Expect to leave with a lingering blend of joy, anger, and compassion—an emotionally vivid and morally resonant experience.

Actors: Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, Willem Dafoe

Director: Sean Baker

Runtime: 111 min

Genre: Drama

7.1 /10 92 /100 7.6 /10 8.0 /10