You should be warned now, I began watching this movie already biased because I'm a native Floridian. When I tell people that, most people think palm trees and Disney. They're not entirely wrong. But there is a side of Florida, Central Florida to be specific, that lives outside of the magic and wonder that most people associate with the Mickey Mouse state. And that is exactly the story this film tells.
Littered with wide shots of unattractive and unholy souvenir shops, before the story begins to unfold I knew exactly where I was. The overlooked portions of International Drive, just beyond the sight of eager tourists, live our characters. They live in a purple castle, remnants of the Disney boom and what was left behind when business were no longer needed in comparison to resort hotels. It's setting is beautiful and tragic. A discarded and savage neighbor to the pristine and perfect theme park world.
(SPOILERS)
Our protagonist is a 6-year-old girl named Moonee (Brooklynn Prince). She lives unsupervised, bored and sweaty. This describes most children in central Florida, and she is a close up look at the innocence of a terrible childhood during one critical summer. She doesn't know it yet, but man will she be screwed up later. In the midst of this unknown future trauma, Moonee makes friends, goes on adventures, gets in trouble and spends time with her mom.
We meet the adult characters through their struggles. Moonee's mother, Halley (Bria Vinaite), is a single mother who has trouble keeping/finding a job. Throughout the story you see her uncontrolled attitude and difficulty dealing with the people around her. She doesn't have the social skills necessary to communicate with her friend or to stay responsible for her daughter. We see her make decisions that are both entirely selfish in nature and somewhat selfless when trying to provide for her daughter. The backstory of Halley is not clear, but I would guess it's not too far from the life Moonee is living right now.
The only consistent male character in this film is Bobby (Willem Dafoe), the manager of the budget motel. We follow him in tangent with other tenants and his own struggles with his son and his responsibilities. Bobby is as much of a hero as this story will give us, and there are quite a few scenes that show he cares for the hellish kids that are left to their own devices at his motel, including scaring away a potential pedophile and keeping Moonee calm when DCF (Department of Children and Families) is at her door. Also, you cannot forget the brilliant conversation he has with those birds. Classic.
Another adult we see is Ashley (Mela Murder), mother of Scooty (Christopher Rivera) and temporary friend of Halley. She is shown doing what she can to provide and protect her son. Working a waitressing job, and not letting him be around kids that enable his bad actions. For this, she is ultimately punched repeated by Halley, and becomes the unofficial "villain," since she calls DCF and becomes the driving force of Halley losing Moonee.
This story is original, tragic, and unapologetically real. The performances by Prince and Dafoe are so believable it's tough to distinguish the character from the actor. I felt true physical pain while watching certain scenes, and ultimately empathized and hated these characters at times.
Through the course of this film we are shown situations without context, and forced to examine the meaning on our own. The most impactful example of this, to me, is the bath scene. We are shown a few different times where Moonee is playing in the bathtub with rap music playing loudly in the bathroom with her. It seems like another part of her day, and it's easy to attribute this to another insight into her childlike world. Until a man walks in, and you realize the true gravity of this scene.
Now, let's talk about the ending.
We begin to see the world around Moonee fall apart. She comes home to see strange people talking to her mom, and her mom is yelling at them. Though, this isn't entirely unusual, she does sense something is wrong. Bobby tries to calm her down, but she is still confused.
By the time she walks away with the strange people and says goodbye to Scooty, she realizes that things are very wrong, since she's heard she will be going to another family. Moonee runs away to see Jancy (Valeria Cotto). When she finally gets there, she can't even explain why she is there.
This lasts for what feels like 20 minutes, when suddenly Jancy takes her hand and they start running. They continue to run out of the motel parking lot and eventually to...
Disney.
After almost 2 hours of painful commentary of this little girl's life, ultimately ending up being taken away from her mom, how did we end up in Disney?
This was a specific choice by director Sean Baker, and I believe the whole movie sets up the reaction we have to this "out of place" shift of storytelling. Not only does it comment on life in Florida as a low/no income family, it exploits the left-overs of Disney culture.
The obnoxious souvenir shops, bright colored buildings, and Disney themed overtones of Orlando can be endearing for tourists. But for those who have to survive in this place, life is much different.
This film perfectly exemplifies this contrast by showing the life of many people within a specific community struggling, while those who visit for the magic of Disney have no idea the true struggle that lies within.
This film is beautiful, realistic, and sends a strong message all before you even realize what you just watched. I would recommend this to anyone, especially if you are familiar with central Florida.
It's not easy for me to find films that pander to my childlike wonder of the world AND my past trauma, all set in my actual childhood home state. This film will forever hold a place in my heart, and I will not soon forget this message when I go back to visit.
Rating: 9/10
This film is currently available on Netflix, and all photos are credited to IMDB.com
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