The Florida Project/Red Rocket
Recently, I watched Sean Baker’s last two movies The Florida Project and Red Rocket which both take place in the South and center around people that are struggling with poverty. I was so mesmerized by both of these films. They both looked gorgeous with all the shots of Texas City and the area surrounding the motel. Baker creates a world for you to live in and my first time watching these movies gave me an experience only a few other movies ever have.
The Florida Project was inspired by one of the writers who always noticed kids running around in Florida. This movie sent me to a time and place where we see these kids enjoying life by causing chaos around the hotel. My brother and I were complete assholes any chance we got when we were in a hotel, but we never had to live in one. The kids explore the other motels and abandoned condos with no supervision whatsoever. The best part about the kids is they have so much fun with little to no resources. The fun comes to them, and that sense of wonder is the high point of the whole movie and this movie embodies the idea of childhood. WILLEM DAFOE PRAISE ALERT: I love him in everything he is in but I think that this might be one of the best roles I have seen him in. He has to manage the motel and that is not a job I would want. Dafoe brings a certain humility and truly cares for his tenants but also has to hold his ground in a job that always seems to have problems. Dafoe should have won an oscar (for this and his portrayal of Green Goblin). I loved the moms in the movie. These single moms clearly have their problems and two out of the three are doing the best they can. Seeing the difference in effort toward motherhood was humbling too, there is one example where a mother has to do something SUPER unsavory just to pay rent. These people have to make ends meet by any means necessary and when you are financially restricted this can lead to terrible things that have to be done for money. The ending of the movie made me feel about 2% better but I had such an unsettling feeling finishing this movie.
Red Rocket felt a little bit more like a hero’s journey except we are following Mikey who is an aging porn star trying to revive his career by going back to where it all started. Mikey is doing everything he can to make a name for himself again. I love how Mikey has to sell weed because he had such a gap in work experience. Red Rocket did a great job of showing how shallow people can be when their mind is fixated on something. Mikey neglected the people who helped him not be homeless and took advantage of them. What makes Mikey an interesting character is that he gets fixated on a 17-year-old girl named “Strawberry” whom he thinks will bring him back to the porn big leagues. Mikey is super transactional with the people he is staying with and neglects everyone else when Strawberry enters his life. The messed up part about the movie is that you really want Mikey to make it happen but you are also satisfied when he messes up and he does it a lot in this movie. Red Rocket has the best use of Bye Bye Bye by NSYNC of all time!!!
Both these movies bring a level of humor that keeps the films a little lighter and easier to watch which is great because I am all for depressing movies with a message but I think comedy can be a great add to movies that have devasting source material. I love the worlds that Sean Baker puts us in and I am looking forward to his next films.
