The Florida Project — Blue Fairy Film Blog

Sean Baker’s Tangerine was a groundbreaking and important independent film that looked at the lives of transgender street sex workers, one of the most vulnerable groups of people in the world. Shot on three separate iPhones and budgeted at $100,000, it was one of the absolute best movies of 2015. Lead actors Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor were phenomenal and have gone on to gain recognition and other important roles from the film, and it became the impetus for Baker’s next feature. With a much larger budget of $2 million and the clout of casting Willem Dafoe, Sean Baker created an exceptional film that should have been nominated for many more awards than it was and should be talked about even more than it already has been.

The film centers on the suburbs of Kissimee, Florida, a short six miles from Walt Disney World, wherein a population of nearly homeless people thrive in downtrodden motels. Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) and her very young mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) live in a mawkish and dilapidated fairy tale themed motel called the Magic Castle. The motel is painted bright purple and made to look eerily similar to the Disney attractions close by, but this pale imitation only attracts those on the fringe of homelessness. After losing her job as an erotic dancer, because she didn’t want to prostitute herself, Halley spends the rest of the film trying to make money and keep DCF far from her door. Bobby (Dafoe), the motel manager is always trying to guide Halley away from her worst instincts while also trying to do his job. Bobby is always trying to be everyone’s father, manager, enforcer, despot, and ruler, while also dealing with his own family issues.

The film flows well, showing unflinching depictions of everyday life in these communities while also showing it all from the perspective of a child. Prince and her fellow friends (played by Valeria Cotto, Aiden Malik, and Christopher Rivera) are exceptional in this film, probably because Baker let these untrained children act as themselves. They mimic adults, play in abandoned buildings, flaunt authority, and beg for money, whimsical and yet desperately troublesome. Many scenes are framed to showcase the dichotomy between children and adults, especially when one subset has to provide and the other has to be provided for. The cast is made up of amateurs, untrained actors, and professionals and they collectively created an intense yet real dialogue that made the film enjoyable throughout. Bria Vinaite was actually cast through Instagram, which makes sense because she physically fits the character very well. She has recently been cast in Netflix’s The OA and I highly recommend her Instagram which mostly features her selfies and press event photos as well as highly enjoyable memes.

The relation to Disney World inspires many chances for comparison. Baker focuses on showing these relations visually. There are multiple scenes of Halley and Moonee walking down the street, past the tourist shops and Floridian places of ill repute. One shot frames the spires of Cinderella’s castle mere miles from these decrepit streets. One shot frames the spires of Cinderella’s castle mere miles from the decrepit streets. There were many moments that felt immediately culled from the article Baker used for reference, including the scenes where Halley pulls scams selling perfume in parking lots, taking stolen waffles from her diner employed friend, and stealing from johns and tourists. Bobby doesn’t seem to flinch when he has to become involved in his tenant’s lives, whether he’s telling an older woman to put her top on at the pool or having the young mother sign in her guests to avoid the cops.

The ending of the film is ambitious as it was done illegally, again on an iPhone. The children portrayed are never given the luxuries and entertainment of the children who pass by on vacation. Instead of visiting the Magic Kingdom the children visit a field of mooing cows, and instead of elaborate desserts they panhandle for enough money to share one slowly melting soft serve ice cream cone. As their worlds crumble around them they venture deeper into their own imaginations, until that final pivotal shot. It further illustrates the point that these children are taking it one day at a time, just like their parents are. One week’s worth of rent, one stack of stolen waffles, and one dream to tide them over until reality tears apart that perfect fairy tale. Sometimes all we have is calling things, “magical,” when they’re simply basic necessities in life. While not whimsical Baker has created something magic, and altogether mystical, in this stark portrayal.