THE FLORIDA PROJECT SPEC D: Sean Baker, U.S. 115 min. Sep 10, 3 pm, Ryerson Sep 11, 4:45 pm, Scotiabank 3. Rating: NNNN
Writer/director Baker follows up his breakthrough, Tangerine, with this kinetic slice of realist cinema set in a run-down Florida motel in the shadow of Disney World.
Six-year-old Brooklynn Prince, as a wild child who romps through the grounds of her “home” with her best friend over the course of one idyllic summer, leads a superb cast of mostly non-professional actors playing people living on the margins.
Her exuberant, barely socialized behaviour is contagious, and Prince steals the movie with a star-making performance. Willem Dafoe is quietly empathetic as the motel manager/father figure who protects the child.
Vividly shot in 35mm, The Florida Project continues Baker’s insightful chronicling of society’s underbelly.
