The Florida Project - Official Movie Review 

She is NOT the worst mom in the world. She is bad, for sure. But to describe her as the worst mom in the world is absurd. She could be WAY worse. She cares immensely about her daughter. PLENTY of mothers don't. She feeds her kid. She clothes her kid. She puts a roof over her head, however she has to. She plays with her kid. She doesn't treat her or talk to her as if she is a burden. She TRIES to make her child happy. Being a woman ill equipped to be a parent in lots of ways doesn't make her the worst mother in the world.

Never seen these critics this clueless about a film before..

I rarely cry when I watch movies but this one had me bawling my eyes out due to my own traumatic childhood with my alcoholic/drug addict/mentally ill mother who passed away when I was 15. I really saw the world with such naive eyes in rainbows and sunshine and I didn’t start to see the reality until I was 9. This film simultaneously made me feel like my inner child was heard but it also broke me into tears with how connected I felt to it.

The ending was perfect!!! They didn't need to show more because we knew what was about to happen and how emotional and depressing it would be to film it. It wasn't needed. The fantasy that took place instead was absolutely perfect. One of the best endings to a movie I have ever seen.

I just saw it. I cried and the dude next to me was a wreck.

The ending was perfect, beautiful whimsical and devastating at the same time.

I usually love these reviews, but hearing you guys talk about this movie made me cringe. You all come off as both very uninformed and elitist many times in this review...

About the end scene: (SPOILERS) I'm sick of critics saying the last scene is "off" or "doesn't fit" or "reversed to Tangerine." Those are comments from idiots who did not understand what the ending represents. THIS CHILD KNOWS HER LIFE IS ABOUT TO CHANGE, IN A PERMANENT WAY. This is the last chance to accomplish the childhood dream. What, was the director supposed to end the movie in 35mm with the kid being dragged away, or were we supposed to see the mom in jail? Who doesn't realize what is going to happen? This movie was about the experiences of the kids within the social context, I think it's a abysmal to have people feeling unsatisfied because they didn't get a "look at what happens to poor people" ending.

Thought this was one of the greatest films of 2017 and the ending definitely grows on you after a while.

I thought the end was perfect. We all knew how it was going to end almost from the start. It's a story that can't have a happy or satisfying ending because little girls like Mooney and moms like Haley don't get satisfying endings. It's the story of how they made it to that end that is more compelling and it was beautifully told in this movie. It made me laugh and sob uncontrollably. I loved it.

I can totally relate to Matt about the nostalgia of being able to wander unsupervised as a kid. Those were really good times :)

She is absolutely not a terrible mother. My feeling was that she was someone who really REALLY loved her kid and tried as hard as she could, within her own limitations, to make ends meet. She was a mess, yes, but she really loved her kid.

How Brooklyn Prince wasn't nominated for her performance here is beyond me

This movie felt like it existed in almost the same world as Moonlight did last year- the bleak home life, the self-absorbed(for the most part) mothers, the sweltering Florida summers, kids roaming dangerous neighborhoods unsupervised, a caring father figure(of sorts) looking out for the children. Obviously there are differences, and you feel less hope after TFP than you did with Moonlight. Both films are lovely, though, in their own unique ways.

I'm a little disappointed that Alonso and Matt agreed with the point Ben made about poor whites not having white privilege because it's certainly incorrect

I love abrupt endings because it leaves you as the audience to decide what happens therefore making you a part of the movie. The Grey has one of the best endings because it's abrupt. Prisoners has an amazing ending because of how abrupt it is. Most the high Oscar callibar films have abrupt endings. Idk why it's such a problem all the sudden.

It's nothing about white black brown or yellow or whatever colour people's skins are. No, not at all. When you stare at her and stare her happy little smart face for nearly two hours, and then she scream out of hopeless, that scream and tears just squeeze your heart. And for the moment, you understand, understand everything this movie is telling you.

The ways in which these reviewers enjoyed this movie but misunderstood a majority of its themes and messages just astonishes me.

It makes me so FUCKING furious that Ben keeps calling her the worst mom ever. She’s terrible at setting a good example and teaching good behavior but she cares SO MUCH about her kid and that’s just so incredibly valuable, Ben can’t even begin to properly appreciate not having it. Check your fucking privilege dude.

I live in south Florida. My skin is brown, I'm considered white, but the government told my grandparents and my father that they weren't. It's a weird space to be in. They dealt with poverty, and I got to check a box, while living in poverty. I was told I was white. It's the demographics changing, so they include more people so they can call it "white majority." In this country. My father grew up in a mixed neighborhood in NY. I'm grateful for that. From my point of view, it's not just about skin tone, but also it's about classism that happened 50-100years ago, and today. the racism that's been happening for hundreds of years for the black Americans. It is so multifaceted and complex of how this country became a shithole.

there was a documentary from hbo I believe based on the kids who live in motels in Orange County Cali across Disney not too long ago, thought the film was very similar to the doc, just very realistically grounded.

What is it with these guys about the ending? It was amazing. It's very likely that it was a fantasy (the abrupt change in filming style, the fact that they just sailed into a place with Fort-Knox-level gate security, the fact that you never see their faces, etc). (and it doesn't matter that they used a different camera/had to film clandestinely inside Disney World, the story stands on its own) But even if it wasn't, the fact that this terribly sad story ends with Moonee inside "The Happiest Place on Earth" not only is an emotional powerhouse of irony, but underscores one of the themes of the movie about the privileged all around them, and those who are permanently on the margins.

Children being Children in a harsh reflection of life in Florida trying to escape the realities that surround them is beautiful.

Matt's not liking the ending is probably because he didn't understand the ending. The ending wasn't real. It's inside Moone's head. The motel is about 15 miles from the Magic Kingdom where the movie ends--very unlikely these kids could get that far in that amount of time. Moone at that moment is at her low--she's crying--she's going to be taken away from her mother. She wants to run away in her head to the happiest place on earth. She's probably never been inside the park but know what it is. And that's what happens. Perfect ending.

You can always count on Ben to make some nitpick-y, subjective complaint about a film. How is this guy allowed to review movies for a living.

I don't agree with Ben. Yes poor white people have it tough but poor white and poor black people are not in the same boat. Poor blacks have to deal with economic deprivation and racism both at the same time

I normally love your reviews but this one was a little... yeah, a little elitist. Unintentionally, for sure. But you talk about the “shockingly” high number of people in the country that live paycheck to paycheck (not at all shocking to those of us who do), and then you say like wow, there are actually people who live this way. Like, you realize that the “people who actually live this way” are also a “shockingly high” percentage of your viewers? I totally love you guys, but comments like that remove you from your audience and are in poor taste.

She really was not the worst mom, she loved her to bits and had to deal with the cards she was dealt

The kid is clearly meant to be the audience's window into this marginal world we're all trying to be oblivious to until that reckoning at the end. Through this ice-cream-sticky 6yo lens, you get just a glimpse of the hopelessness closing in from all directions, the destruction of the middle class, the generational deterioration of families and family values, the inability of overwhelmed institutions to deal with any of it, personified by Dafoe's turn as the saintly 'warden'... and then the director's like: "Oh I'm sorry, did this get too dark for you? Go to Disney, you effin' babies!" It was like KIDS with humidity. Anyone who's driven through Kissimmee will know what I'm talking about. It's the most depressing place on Earth, just a quick drive from what's supposed to be the 'Happiest".

All 4 of of y’all are fool of it This gives you a look into the lives of people that we TURN A BLIND EYE TOO Maybe next time you’ll think twice when passing the UNWANTED on the street

The mother is far from the worst mother in film, I think that title goes to the mother in "Precious." The mother in this movie, despite her flaws deeply loves her daughter and this is evident by her complete shock when DCF shows up to take her child, and then divulges into rage. And if you notice, she completely loses her shit when she finds out that her daughter ran away from the DCF people (the very people that claim they came to protect her), and they had the nerve to seek her help to find her daughter (this also speaks volumes and is very realistic about the ineptitude child protective services in most states). The only truly horrible thing the mother does is have men over when she starts prostituting herself to pay rent, and even then she considers the fact that her daughter is around and shields her from the situation by having her take a long bath and playing music loudly so she doesn't hear. Even though she's doing something you should never do with a child in the house, she's still trying to protect her, which is why the guy who walks into the bathroom gets yelled at. The mother never blames the daughter for the predicament they're in, which you see in a lot of movies that deal with poverty. What's realistic too is that despite not having a lot of money, the mother has a smartphone and smokes, and that the minute she gets extra money in her pocket (like when she sells the stolen Disney passes) she takes her daughter out on a shopping spree. This is so true to families like this, because if you don't spend that money right away it'll end up getting used for things like bills. The mother is a very realistic look at generational poverty and the struggles young single mothers go through. The sad reality is that kids like Moonee will grow up to continue the cycle. This movie is so effective because it's realistic. The mother isn't over-the-top abusive like other films similar to this. Everything is subtle, just the way it is in real life. There aren't any "bad guys" that most movies (even ones related to poverty) have. It's a slow-burn "slice of life" film that shows poverty as more than just a one-dimensional problem where everyone is depressed 99% of the movie. It also explores poverty from the child's perspective, which is something that I haven't seen in any other movie. The entire movie (except for a few parts here and there) is kids running around having fun and getting into trouble. I grew up poor (though not as bad as the people in this situation) and this is accurate. As a kid you are cognizant of the problems in your family, but it doesn't affect you on an emotional level as long as there are no huge changes and as long as you can continue to run around and have fun. The ending of the movie is perfect, as it shows what happens during the death of childhood. In one instant everything changes, and the switch to the iPhone camera where they run to Disney is how a child under stress would cope with such a dilemma, and that is to flee to the "happiest place on earth." It's clear that this isn't real because there's no way two poor children living out of motels could ever afford to go there.

You’re repeating the mom is the worst mom is the worst, well you’re wrong she is not the worst at all.

I LOVED THE ENDING its was so beautiful. I guess you people have never lived on the poverty line. Best film I have seen this year, much better than Call me by your name. Sean Baker has such a signature in his work, I knew from the first frame it was his Brilliant.

I did the hotel thing for quite a while. Had all my shit stolen out of my truck. I also had to live in the back of my truck with my ex. I did the homeless junkie, sleeping in a graveyard thing, too. Being homeless sucks shit ass.

In my opinion, the ending was PERFECT! I guess I can't knock anyone for not liking the ending, but for me it was the best one since The Plague Dogs and it actually pushed the movie from a 9 to a 10.

2:05 "insubordination" ? It's not the army, Ben? Being a good parent doesn't mean being a good sergeant.

Yes, Matt Atchity! There's nothing more fun than a partially-built house!

First and last time I watch a video from this channel. Very pretentious panel! Love the sound of their own voices.

The ending was perfect. It punctuated the filmmaker’s thesis powerfully

She's not as bad a mother and she's not as bad a daughter as Mankiewicz would make you think. If they were, this movie would not be as powerful as it is.

I loved this movie. Completely devastating and I was invested the entire time. 3rd fave of the year. Willem Defoe and the old guy though!

“ worst mom in the world? These kids are horrible?” Jesus man what pumpkin patch did you grow up in? Neither of those comments are even close to being true. How about you go volunteer with CASA or some other org. That deals with the way millions of kids are treated in this country.

These people really know how to ruin a movie not even by telling the ending just by how they talk about the movie

THE BUBBLE! I couldn't put it into words but you nailed it. That's why I love the ending. SPOILERS: None of these kids have ever been to Disney World. There's this magic dream world within walking distance of their homes. The kids have learned that, for whatever reason, they aren't good enough to visit there. To Moonee, Disney World is where other, better people go. Listen to her when she hands over the Disney wristbands and says have a nice time. Just like the tourists who visit Disney World, the men who enter Halley's life are happy to take the good and leave the bad behind. Moonee hides in the bathtub while her mother entertains a man. The man makes it clear that the worst part of Halley is Moonee. "You have a fucking kid?" Moonee is faced with a horrible unfair situation. She's being taken away from her mother and everything she knows. She doesn't know how to deal with it. Jancey doesn't either so they run away and, for a moment, escape the bubble. The people in Disney World don't treat them like they're a problem. They’re just kids being kids, miraculously finding happiness in an environment of poverty. And finding a moment of relief from the harsh realities of life in the effortless way that only kids can do. Which, despite the extent of their misbehavior, is all they’ve been doing since the beginning. In a way the ending is profoundly hopeful. It shows that, while Moonee and the kids fear change like anybody else, they do not let the confines of their bubble stop them from happiness. That takes courage and it may be how Halley ended up in this situation to begin with, but it may also be the only way out. They have to stop believing everything and everyone in their environment that signals to them with overbearing regularity that they aren't good enough and that they shouldn't love themselves. They get stuck in this funk of believing that they can't improve their lives.

Christy Lemire's comments were right on...the other two guys are morons. The ending of the movie was easy to understand. Moonie and Jancey were fleeing to The Magic Kingdom...where all children's dreams come true!!. In that place Moonie, even briefly could stay with her mom and become a good family. The next time I see a homeless person standing on the street corner with a sign, I'll throw them a few bucks for ice cream....This was a truly touching movie!!!

There is no such thing as a bad kid. Kids literally do not have the mental capacity or life experience to understand what it means to be good or bad fully and completely. A child's behavior is a direct result of their environment, their underdeveloped brains and the inherent child psychological makeup that comes with all that. I hate the term "bad kids" it speaks to a gross misunderstanding of child psychology. To call something or someone bad is to devalue it and implies something inherent to that person or thing.

Some comparison to Night Of The Hunter, and The Bicycle Thief, classic films that used childhood innocence, and fantasy life, as a buffer to the very real or dangerous predicaments of the adult family members.

This review sounded so elitist and judgmental of people living in these situations. "She's the worst mom in the world." Are you serious?? Hailey cares about Mooney, and does whatever it takes, including selling her own body, to take care of her. She tries her best. Hailey loves her child more than anything and you can see that in the expressions she has. Love and desperation have consumed her life. Don't talk about how awful a mother she is for letting her child roam and swearing around her. She cares for her kid, and that is the most important quality a mother could ever have. This review is horrible. Have some respect for parents who struggle. God, that one guy sounds so elitist.

Matt Atchity hated it and complained that it wasn’t as good as Wonder Woman.

These hosts are so passive aggressive.

I can't stand Ben. I'm so glad Jimmy Dore lit his ass up.

I thought this was horrible. Horrible people doing depraved things in a miserable setting. Anyone talking about how the mother was good in any way makes me shake my head. No thanks to the mother, her daughter is a little pain in the ass, too. I found nothing remotely cute or endearing about her. The mother was a horror. Nothing redeeming. Sean Baker says he wanted to show us a slice of life. Well, thanks! And it is a slice of life with no new insight into this way of living. No plot. No structure. And I enjoyed Tangerine. When the girl cried (for about one minute), I felt nothing. Silly/stupid whimsical/fanciful faux-feel good ending. I just couldn't take to these people. And I also expected more from Dafoe. Just a bust all around for me. That said, my theater seemed to loathe this, as well. Lots of "WTF" responses and "this got 4 stars?" I kept hearing in the theater and in the lobby.

I think if the film were about someone else and these kids played a cameo where they spit on someone’s car you would just take it for granted that these are shitty kids. But the film was about the kids and you live with them for awhile and learn empathy for them. Had the film been about the mother instead then I’m sure we’d have learned empathy for her as well. She has a story too. But this is not her story. Like the others here in the comments, the movie reviewer simply does not understand this film if he feels comfortable saying she is the worst mom in the history of cinema. I’m no professional film critic but I can instantly think of worse. That mom loves her kid.

let’s take a shot every time one of those guys decides the blonde doesn’t have a strong enough point on her own and interjects in the middle of her speaking 🤓

They didn`t mention this movie was made on a budget $2million; This movie was just astonishing and one of the best of 2017. The acting from the mom and daughter n the movie was just way too good methodwise. Go and see this movie; The ending that they debating here, I totally got the ending and without going into spoilers, the ending was seen through the eyes of innocent kids, what kids would do when faced when faced with a situation thats just too difficult for them to understand.Shocked and horrified this went completely ignored at The Oscars. O yeah, almost forgot ; yes indeed she was a terrible mum but it was in your face obvious to me at least she loved her daughter and was doing everything she could to keep a roof over her daughters head cause she knew if she ended up homeless, her daughter would be taken off of her so..thats the reason why she makes and forced into making the choices she makes, I mean coming up with rent week after week after week after week, extremely difficult thing to do. Guys, make it our business to see this movie OMG! Utterly amazing movie.

I got fleas and bed bugs from this movie.

UGH! Ben is insufferably smug and elitist!

This movie is amazing. Forget about the politics and “white privilege”, it’s a great movie for what it is. No need to analyze it

Let's see how Ben's kids turn out

I think my neighbor's mom is the worst mom in the world.

Screww you four. The ending is PERFECT

I saw at least 3 or 4 connections sharply touched upon at the ending of the movie which strongly related to the themes of the movie and how the story had developed. I won't go into explaining them because that would be 'Spoilers' and I really want to avoid that, even if someone else down thread might have already done some spoiling. I of course don't know what each of you were expecting and looking for in the ending which left you in the dark about what was being quite spectacularly covered in the ending scene but, if you didn't understand the end then you really missed the entire message or several of the messages being built upon from beginning to the end of that movie and story.

I don’t think she is a bad mom. I know plenty crack babies and kids raised by prostitutes. It may seem dark to you, but we in the “ghetto” know these women, and they do what they can. They are not horrible people. Sometimes getting a day job is improbable due to addictions, backgrounds and decisions made during your youth. Some people are raised bad and are stuck living this way.

I watched the movie yesterday and thought it was brilliant. This is not a movie for children, though. There was a family with young children at the show I went to, but they left soon after the movie began. There were also two elderly ladies sitting near me who commented that they found the movie disturbing.

This is a really good movie with a story to tell and the performers who can pull it off. The Sean Baker staple of shaky cam can drive one nuts, but not as much as the ending which just doesn't work. Glad someone brought it up!

In defense of Mom I did not see any hard drugs in her possession. The confusing thing is that Scooties Mother had a legit job so I kept thinking why the other Mom did not. I also read a review that said Dafoe was at his best. Well to be honest I thought he was better in the Great Wall and he wasn't exactly great in that either. I have also seen cuter kids but maybe casting a minimally cute kid as a major character was to add realism to the movie. Overall this movie is sort of boring, mostly uneventful and generally predictable. If you start feeling sorry for the families think of the rich kid who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I would give the movie a 5.5 overall.

Of course, mothers get vilified! Impossible circumstances but they are blamed.

I thought it ended perfectly. What is it that Matt and anything that did not like the ending want to happen?

Welcome to the world, little girl. I grew up in FLA. Crazy is as crazy does.

What does race have to do with this??? It's a story about class and privilege from money. White privilege exists even in lower classes, even if it less prominent. Denying that is ignorant. When Hailey and Mooney were selling perfumes, the customers wouldn't have bought as many products if the vendors were black. Hailey is a mother that tries her best. This movie broke my heart, and you are all lacking extreme amounts of empathy to be judging these characters so harshly..

Loved the movie. But that ending almost ruined it all. It was really bad but fortunately I ended up “forgiving” it. Overall the movie was just this sweet nostalgic experience

ben missed the point.

Oscar?

Treating important subjects does not make it a good film.Meandering direction, bad child acting (SHOUT EVERY LINE DARLING!) This is too loose and indulgent to be a great movie.Appeals only to middle class condescension.

What was that JJ Abrams knockoff saying?

I am shocked that these people call themselves film critic. How can you miss the BIG picture?? The most brilliant scene of the move is the last one. These American kids, while living in the US and next to the Disney, could only dream about going to the Magic Kingdom. The movie, through telling real life story, forces people to question our society. It is our societal problem that causes these kids living in such an unstable condition, childhood being wasted running around the wasteland outside the Disney World, a place called "heaven on earth". Yes, the movie abruptly ended. What's more do you want to see? It is time to think, and contemplate. It is what thought-provoking movies do.

I FUCKIN HATE THIS FILM. I agree with Ben about these being horrible people and having a hard time wanting to “cheer” for them. The mom was trash and the kids were horrible. I hated these people throughout the entire movie. William Dafoe’s character bobby was the only decent person in the movie. As far as the film goes, it was beautifully shot. I’ll admit that. Too bad such beautiful cinema-photography was wasted on such bad acting and horrible characters.

Alonso felt attacked at Ben's privilege discussion, l.

This movie is on Amazon Prime. WATCH IT!!!!!!! I saw it over a month ago, and I has really stuck with me. I thought the ending was brilliant.

I like that Ben gave an honest opinion in this review. Props to you, man-

The ending was the best part! Up to that point, everything had been so [miserably] concrete and real. The last minute was them blasting into a fantasy realm that was completely foreign to their lives, yet right next door.

I did not like the movie. Not terrible but just not interesting enough.

It must be easy to criticise poor people and their children when you are a rich and well connected jew.

Funny Matt brought up American Honey I was thinking of that whilst watching this movie as they have many similarities. I thought this movie was really good surprised me but I shouldn't have been realising it was a movie from A24.

Big fan of A24 and really wanted to like this film but I didn't. Those annoying spoiled kids never shut up and the storyline goes nowhere. It's a grotesque portrayal of America at its lowest. Don't waste your time or money!

5:05 = so true

Hated the ending.

I do not think this Ben dude knows the reality of many families in America and around the world. I work with at risk youth and this is most definitely a reality. This guy needs to open his eyes to the way things are for many people. Those kids are not bad, they are just victims of circumstance, who crave legit attention. My apologies for not posting a film related comment, but this needed to be said.

I thought the ending was perfect..I believe the girls were running towards that fairly tale dream the castle. Ultimately we know what is going to happen in the reality, but since this film is basically thru the eyes of the children why would we need an adult ending? I thought the end was prefect.

I understand the ending as being a fiction created by the little red head as a coping mechanism to the unbearable reality she's confronted with.

Am I the only one who didn’t understand this movie? I understood the whole message and the idea behind it, but frankly the movie had no plot, no turning point, and no character development. Since the beginning of time these have all been the building blocks of story, period. It doesn’t even have to be a good story to have all of that. . . I personally think if this movie had a concrete storyline it could’ve have been more comprehendible to me. But I just don’t know. Can someone please explain it to me? I really don’t get why it is so critically acclaimed.

White privilege is not synonymous to the privileges that come with being a certain social-economic class. . .

This movie felt like an obnoxious art piece

Discussions about white privilege (a term that's easily misunderstood, and often abused) aside, this is a wonderful film, and you ought to see it, if you can. The kids are dumb and wild but you expect that. The mother's terrible but you understand why. I won't call it a masterpiece, yet that shouldn't stop people from seeing "The Florida Project." EDIT: (SPOILERS) Anyone else get anxious whenever the kids were alone, unsupervised in the swamps and stuff? Especially with the early threat of the pedophile? Nice, subtle work by Baker, there.

the ending was perfect.

Ben needs to shut up about politics. He's so clueless.

Would of gave it a 9 or 10 but gave it an 8 The last minute was puzzling 🤔 Bad choice by the writer, could of ended better. And I get it, Disney land where you forget your troubles etc But after a power house of an emotional scene, it just felt blah.

that dude doesnt know what white privilege is. the difference is Precious

Annoying movie . That child girl was so annoying . What an annoying movie . Kids that have such power over adults . Fucked up world we give our kids now .

My Review: Not that i wasn’t warned...but, for all my upbeat anticipation ( due to the egregiously misleading ‘trailer) somehow believing i was going to be treated to a sweet film about the ‘ode to the wonder and magic of childhood’ .... i am left somewhat troubled, and a bit sick to my stomach, at the bleak, desperate, sometimes-cruel and violent storyline here... ...peering, into the lives of a single-parent, uber-white-trash foul-mouthed ( yes...right in front of the child) gonzo-tattoo’d young mother, “Holley’...played by Bria Vinaite, trying to survive barely ‘off the street’...and her (for now) innocent young daughter, both having to live in impoverishment, in an Orlando Florida ‘ghetto-chic’ 3-story weekly motel... sternly and dutifully managed by Willem Dafoe. There are some lighthearted scenes early on, between the unit kids and Dafoe,...( they did do a lot of running around and screaming, much to Willems shagrin, which i imagine the director believed would come off as ‘darling’...but i found mega-annoying mostly, even as much as i liked the kids) but... that’s about where it ended. the film then delves into the ‘not-so-innocent’, unattractive-side’ of a gritty lower-demographic, and the often low-minded, high school dropout level banter....rife with a dialog befitting the low-achiever’ status of the films motel occupants, and made up mostly of rather Banal, Strident Platitudes. The trailer completely obfuscated what was to come as we venture deeper inside the film itself, and imo, they deceptively imaged, a cheerfull ‘coming of age’ ‘magic-of-childhood’ tale, when....after about the first 20 minutes...the movie plunges into some very dark-storytelling and portrayals of the brutal, harsh ‘survival-instinct’ lives of tenents having to exist nearly at the brink, families living in little more than a 250 sq. ft motel room, often there, due to general-unemployment, overall- misfortune, obviously the drug lifestyle, and no doubt, poor choices. The ending really bummed me out, as, despite the ugliness that surrounded these people and their living predicament.... they had ‘character-developed’... a strong bond with the Mom, and her sweet 7 year old daughter “Moonee’...played by Brooklyn Prince. at the end of the film, CPS’s are called and are trying to pry the child away from the mom....and it’s just heartwrenching.... and...i was even left wondering what in the hell director Sean Baker, was attempting to ‘say.... As ‘Mooney and a friend are seen escaping somehow?....and running away from the Motel property, unsupervised, across traffic and end up skipping toward the disney entrance? ...disturbing... as if the little girl is enjoying her last ‘moment of childhood, stolen away by these unwelcome, undeserved circumstances. in the last heartbreaking scene, absolute chaos ensues, as two agents from Child Services come to separate them. it was horrific. the Mother, as much as i tried to like her’ ( she did’...love her daughter and throughout the film, is portrayed as doing all she can to be a friend, and do her best for the child...given their circumstances) .... ends up revealing behaviours attributed to her personal hardships, obvious ‘lack of education or much refineness’, and naturally that ubiquitous inner-city ‘ghetto’ persona and ‘ingorant-swag’ act, so many are afflicted with today. the language also deteriorated, as the film progressed; about every other word from the Mom was ‘Fuck....and the Director doesn’t spare the unfortunate children, well within earshot of these hositle expletive-laden tirades from the parents, having them taking the good brunt’ of many foul-mouthed exchanges between film characters. ??? ( and we wonder why todays kids are off the rails?) i walked away basically feeling ‘sick’...over the ripping apart of a Mother and Childs loving bond’ however, and the sad state of affairs overall. a real-life tragedy that plays out everyday somewhere, to be sure..... Despite Dafoe’s presence in the film (he ends up somewhat a ‘ghost’... in the final moments.. where your thinking he’s going to perhaps do something to intervene, be her ‘Hero’...or at least.. stop CPS’s from taking the young girl....but ends up sort of ‘bowing out’ of the drama unfolding, and retreats to smoke a cigarette out back, while the gutwrenching tragedy plays out, up at Moonee’s apartment. In the end i was left trembling and just basically shouting at my LCD screen, ‘upset’...confused and angry, at what i had just put myself thru, to watch. Nay, what the film maker...had just put me thru’. despite rooting for Moonee’ naturally, and just finding her adorable, 5/10....is all i got for this disturbing and ultimately dark, sad glimpse into the lives of so many (children included) who end up having to be ‘born into this’....despite their innocence, and fighting to survive right out of the gate, just to barely get by Well-under the middle-class bar line. -