Above all, this is a movie that captures a specific time and place with uncanny precision. It is a story that takes place over a couple weeks, but defines an entire way of life for certain poor people in the country, in this case in the hotels of Orlando, Florida. That the movie is told from the perspective of a child for the majority of the run-time is special as well (Brooklyn Prince is the leading actress performance of the year in my opinion), and this is no adorable story: it is a child doing what children do like spitting on cars, starting fires, and questioning everything. It is a good idea that other characters are followed as well to give the movie more depth, especially the landlord Willem Dafoe and the despicable mother plated by Bria Vinatie, but not all characters are likable, and everything is portrayed with the realism of a documentary. The ending of the movie has been much debated, but it is the best crescendo of the year in my opinion and the film carries you every step of the way.
Review of The Florida Project
