Young local actresses mesmerize in film ‘The Florida Project’
From sunsets and bright colors to homelessness and traffic near Walt Disney World, “The Florida Project” is a Central Florida story in ways large and small.
The movie, a topical comedy-drama, was shot primarily in Osceola County last year and tells of adventurous homeless kids living in cheap motels along busy roads. The film, one of the most acclaimed of 2017, could make stars of two local actresses, both just 7 years old: Brooklynn Prince, of Winter Springs, and Valeria Cotto, of Davenport.
A.O. Scott of The New York Times raved that Brooklynn is “an uncannily poised and resourceful actress” and that the film “accomplishes something almost miraculous.” “The Florida Project” opens Thursday at Enzian, the Maitland theater where the film held initial auditions.
Brooklynn plays the lead role, Moonee, and Valeria portrays Jancey, who becomes Moonee’s best friend. Their casting sounds like the stuff of Hollywood lore.
Brooklynn quickly dazzled director Sean Baker. “She came in. Within seconds, I could
“I wanted a real rambunctious little kid, like one of the Little Rascals. I was looking for the present-day Spanky McFarland, and that’s no joke.” “The Florida Project” director director Sean Baker
tell,” he said. “I could tell she’s definitely cast.” Within minutes, he said he was “pretty convinced” he had found his lead.
The young actress said she was different from Moonee “because I don’t cuss.”
In other ways, she and Moonee are similar. “I like ice cream, and I like to play, and I love my mom,” she said. “Not in a bragging way, I’m smart,” she added, crediting her parents.
“I wanted a real rambunctious little kid, like one of the Little Rascals,” Baker said. “I was looking for the present-day Spanky McFarland, and that’s no joke,” he said, referring to the 1930s Little Rascals star. “I said, ‘I’m not going to make this film unless I find the new Spanky in a little girl.’ She came in, cute, witty, energetic, enthusiastic. Also, she had experience.”
Brooklyn has appeared in commercials and acted since she was 2. She was recommended to Baker by CrowdShot, an Orlandobased casting company. For the lead, Baker said, he needed a little girl who understood the mechanics of filmmaking during the 35-day shoot.
Valeria had never acted. Baker spotted her in a store with her mother, approached them and gave them his card, said Chris Bergoch, who co-wrote the film with Baker. When Valeria appeared for her audition, she could improvise spontaneously, unlike many other kids, Bergoch added.
Valeria stressed she is different from Jancey in an important way. “I do not lie. I do not act cool about it. I just tell the truth,” she said.
The child actors, including Christopher Rivera of Kissimmee who plays Scooty, had to learn their lines, then they could improvise, Bergoch said.
“It was a 102-page script, but the trick is to give and take with the actors to make it feel like it’s not scripted,” he said. “With Sean, if anything feels scripted, he’s not going to use it in the film.”
The film captures the colorful palette of Central Florida and the beauty of fireworks, a rainbow and a bent tree. “It’s about the joy of children and sees the world almost from a child’s perspective, so there’s a lot of laughter, a lot of fun,” Baker said.
But “The Florida Project” also mixes the children’s comical escapades with heartbreaking drama about being homeless.
“I was trying to put a human face on this issue, so that the stigma is removed,” Baker said, “and audiences will hopefully be moved enough to look into in their own communities.”
Even though “The Florida Project” features children, it is an R-rated film. At a screening for cast and crew at Enzian, Baker warned adults there was profanity and adult content.
Moonee’s single mom, Halley (Bria Vinaite in her screen debut), resorts to criminal activity to get money. Kindly motel manager Bobby (Willem Dafoe) watches over the children and protects them from danger.
The most wrenching scene falls to Brooklynn near the film’s conclusion.
“You can’t rehearse a scene like that that strives for that level of emotion,” Baker said. “She put herself in that place and brought the tears. We knew she was going to try for tears. We talked to her parents about it … We didn’t know she was going to reach that level of intensity.”
Baker said the people on set couldn’t believe what was happening. “A little girl truly performing this emotional scene, which is breaking down — a little 6-year-old,” he said. “When she said the last word, I yelled cut.”
Crew members rushed to hug her afterward and told her it was going to be OK, the filmmakers said.
“I didn’t have to do it again because we had one take, and one take was beautiful, and we moved on,” Baker said.
“When I cried, it really touched my heart,” Brooklynn said. “Going through that story is so hard.”
Bergoch praised Brooklyn’s “raw national talent — she got the character even though she couldn’t really understand the larger aspects of the story, the adult stuff.”
The children, who plan to keep acting, are thinking of fantasy projects.
Valeria said she wants to be in “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Harry Potter.”
“They need a new Harry Potter,” said Brooklynn, a “Star Wars” fan. She wants to work with Justin Timberlake and Daisy Ridley.
For now, the young performers can enjoy the reviews that veteran actors rarely receive. Brooklyn is “a startling discovery,” writes Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times, calling the film “one of the most infectious and thrillingly alive portraits of childhood I’ve ever seen.”
As for awards talk about the film, Baker knocked wood and said he was superstitious.
Brooklynn’s bio says she hopes to win an Oscar. But in an interview, she said, “It’s all in God’s hands.”