Matho
The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
werdnaoslek
Yeah this movie could have been Oscar worthy if it weren't for that terribly executed, irredeemably bad ending. I get the premise of it but I refuse to believe that there couldn't have been a better way to do it. I was loving everything else up until the last 60 seconds, which was seriously one of the most unsatisfying endings to any film that came out in 2017. It's such a shame.
Jackson Booth-Millard
When this independent film was released to DVD, film critic Mark Kermode was giving it a lot of praise, I only knew bits and pieces of its premise, so I was looking forward to it, directed by Sean Baker (Tangerine). Basically in the Magic Castle, a budget motel in Kissimmee, Florida near Walt Disney World, six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Kimberly Prince) lives with her young tattooed single mother Halley (Bria Vinaite). She spends most of her time during the summer unsupervised with her motel friends Scooty (Christopher Rivera) and Dicky (Aiden Malik), playing and causing mischief, scrounging and stealing from tourists, and getting in trouble. The three children are one day caught spitting on a guest's car, Dicky's father (Edward 'Punky' Pagan) restricts him from playing with Moonee and Scotty, his family later relocate to New Orleans, which saddens the others. While the kids are cleaning the car, Moonee meets Jancey (Valeria Cotto), who lives at the Futureland motel next door, she invites her to hang out with them. Bobby (Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated Willem Dafoe), the manager of Magic Castle, is protective of the children, this includes one incident where an elderly man is acting suspiciously hanging around them, he threatens to call the police if the man returns. Halley is struggling to pay her rent, she tries to sell perfume to many tourists in parking lots, and she asks Scooty's mother, Ashley (Mela Murder), to steal food for them from the diner she works at. But Ashley cuts contact after discovering Moonee, Scooty, and Jancey set fire to an abandoned condominium. To make more money, Halley sets up an online prostitution profile offering her services, closing Moonee in the bathroom when she is with a client. Bobby notices the activity and applies restrictions on unregistered guests in her motel room. When Halley steals a client's Disney resort passes to sell them, the man she stole demands them back; Bobby sees him off but warns Halley that he will evict her if she continues her prostitution. Halley is desperate and approaches Ashley to apologize and ask for money, Ashley mocks her for her prostitution, Halley beats her up in front of Scooty. The next day, Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) arrive to investigate Halley. She cleans up her room and gives away her weed, then takes Moonee to a resort hotel restaurant, charging the meal to a guest's room. When they return to the motel, DCF and the police are waiting to take Moonee into foster care pending investigation. Bobby overhears the commotion, but cannot bring himself to do anything, he just stands outside and smokes. Moonee runs away to find Jancey, they run away together to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Also starring Josie Olivo as Grandma Stacy. Vinaite is great as the just about managing single mother, Prince is impossibly cute and brilliant as the mischievous daughter, and Dafoe is terrific as the kindly motel manager, the theme of childhood innocence and the clash between adult and child worlds are very evocative, it is emotionally intense, but there good-spirited and funny bits as well, a fantastic drama. Very good!
