The Florida Project

Sean Baker did not have the Magic Castle motel painted for the shoot. By his own account it was already purple, which is why he wanted it. It stands on US Highway 192, a strip of cheap rooms outside Walt Disney World. The title comes from the same ground: this was Disney’s internal code name while it assembled that Florida land in the sixties. Alexis Zabe shot on 35mm, but the closing run toward the Magic Kingdom was captured on an iPhone 6S Plus, without Disney’s permission and with a skeleton crew. The image loses quality at the exact moment the film leaves the world it has documented, then cuts away with nothing settled. Baker restricts events to what the children can take in. No scene states outright how Halley covers the rent; you assemble it from what Moonee overhears. Baker found Bria Vinaite, who plays Halley, on Instagram; she had never acted, and a coach worked with her before shooting. Willem Dafoe was nominated for Actor in a Supporting Role at the 90th Academy Awards. That was its only nomination; Sam Rockwell took the award. A good fit if you accept from the start that no scene will explain this family’s situation. Not for anyone who wants the film to rule on whether Halley is a good mother.