The Florida Project
Movie, 2017, The 2010s, Set in A motel near Disney World
The Florida Project is #11 of 37 in release order and #11 of 37 in chronological order in the A24.
The story
The story of a precocious six year-old and her ragtag group of friends whose summer break is filled with childhood wonder, possibility and a sense of adventure while the adults around them struggle with hard times.
The Florida Project recap
The Florida Project (2017) follows six-year-old Moonee through a summer at a budget motel outside Walt Disney World, where she lives with her young mother. Sean Baker directs and co-writes with Chris Bergoch. Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) runs loose with her friends Scooty (Christopher Rivera) and Jancey (Valeria Cotto), spitting on cars, begging for ice cream money and switching off the motel's power. Her mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) has lost her stripping job and scrapes by selling knockoff perfume to tourists. The manager, Bobby Hicks (Willem Dafoe), fixes, evicts and scolds, but quietly looks out for the kids. After the children set fire to an empty condo block, Scooty's mother Ashley cuts off Halley and the free diner food she relied on, and Halley turns to sex work in her room while Moonee bathes with the music up. The film stands alone.
The Florida Project ending explained
The Florida Project ends with child services coming for Moonee. Halley, short of rent, steals a client's theme park wristbands, Bobby throws out the angry customer, and Halley beats Ashley after asking her for money. Investigators find evidence of the sex work and arrive with police to place Moonee in foster care. Moonee, sensing what is happening, runs to Jancey's motel in tears. Jancey takes her hand and the two run all the way into the Magic Kingdom, toward Cinderella Castle; Baker shot the sequence covertly on an iPhone in the park.
Post-credits scenes
No. The Florida Project has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch The Florida Project
The Florida Project isn't on a US streaming service right now. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 96%
Where it fits
- Release order: after The Killing of a Sacred Deer, before Good Time.
- Chronological order: after The Killing of a Sacred Deer, before Good Time.
Cast
- Brooklynn Prince as Moonee
- Bria Vinaite as Halley
- Willem Dafoe as Bobby
- Christopher Rivera as Scooty
- Valeria Cotto as Jancey
- Mela Murder as Ashley
- Josie Olivo as Grandma Stacy
- Caleb Landry Jones as Jack
- Aiden Malik as Dicky
- Edward Pagan as Dicky's Dad
- Jim R. Coleman as Cabbie
- Patti Wiley as Amber
Directed by Sean Baker.