The Florida Project
resulted in an Oscar nomination of Best Supporting Actor in 2018 for Willem Dafoe. He
played manager Bobby at a motel just on the outskirts of Disneyland in Florida.
One where the clientele are the down and out and rooms are rented by the week
or month. Not for the traveler actually going to see Disneyland, this motel is
for those who have no other choices for housing.
The film is rated R for language throughout, disturbing
behavior, sexual references and some drug material.
Halley (Bria Vinaite) and her six-year-old daughter Moonee
(Brooklynn Prince) are residents at the motel, and although Halley tries her
hardest to provide for Moonee, she has few skills in being a single Mom and
sole breadwinner. Halley relies on scamming any way she can, on the generosity
of others in her “community,” and ultimately on her body.
Bobby doesn’t put up with anyone not following the rules in
his motel. He has superiors he has to report to, and rules to follow himself.
He does have a heart for the children though, innocent victims of birth and circumstances.
In one very compelling scene, he creatively and effectively deals with a
would-be child molester, who surely won’t return to prey on the unsupervised
children again.
I watched this film several months after its release with a
friend of mine who is a social worker. Having been a child and family therapist
myself years ago, I saw the reality of what these families were going through
all too well. My friend and I agreed that Halley was trying her best, but
unfortunately it simply was not enough. Why some people have kids is simply a
tragedy for them and their children.
Did you see The
Florida Project and did it change how you think about the disadvantaged in
America?
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