So Close, Yet So Far, America’s Reality
Moonee is just a little girl that wants to go out and play with her friends. Her and her inherited mother, Halley, live in low-income housing on the outskirts of the massively popular theme park, Disneyworld. It’s hard living day to day, so the two utilize their street smarts to bring in just enough money to see each subsequent day.
***Warning: Spoilers***
This was a really hard movie to watch and the crazy thing is, all of this is pretty much someone’s reality. Most of us don’t know what goes on outside of our perspective socioeconomic groups. The thing is about this, is that I think the director is telling us this extremely narrowed-down story to make us feel that way. If that’s true, he has succeeded without a doubt. I can recall that a couple even left half way through. It may not explicitly say that it’s based off of a true story, I have no doubt that multiple people live like this and they have little to no power to get themselves out of it.
For a dreary movie, this was vibrant and beautifully shot. This is in most part to illustrate Moonee’s adolescent view on the world. This harsh reality is all she knows, so her idea of fun may be very different from those in the middle class and definitely those in the upper class.This takes place in those themed dilapidated areas that try to lure in tourists to become customers. With a lively facade, lives a horrible truth within.
The acting was phenomenal. Other than Willem Dafoe, most of the cast are small name actors with minimal credits. I even learned that the actress that played Halley was discovered through the social media platform Instagram. I was really surprised at how real these characters seemed. The kids were great at a variety of situations that were thrown at them. Dafoe evolved throughout the film as we peeked into his trials and tribulations as a hotel manager and a father figure in disguise.
One subplot was really impactful and it involved a bathroom. As the story unfolded, our main characters were running out of resources and ways to get money for rent. Around this time we start to get these odd long sequences of Moonee taking a bath to loud music. At first, it just seems like a routine thing, but when we get to a certain amount of times, a John barges in by mistake and we learn that this is a means to protect Moonee from this harsh reality.
One big criticism that may be very controversial to all viewers was the ending. At the height of the misery that’s befell our characters, the movie takes a sharp left turn. When Moonee runs away to escape social workers from taking her away, her only option was to go to her new friend, Jancey. Jancey lived in the similar hotel across the way and when Moonee arrived, the two runoff, in music video fashion, to Disney World. As they run through the park towards the Enchanted Castle, it fades to black. For me, it was just too abrupt and ripped me out of the movie. I was ready for some miserable ending, but this happy one was just out of nowhere.
I’ve said it before, this is a hard watch, but this film should still be seen. It gives us peek into the challenges that this specific group faces on a day to day basis that we wouldn’t see otherwise. With spectacular performances, cinematography, and an intriguing story, this movie does stand out, even with its controversial ending. It’s a shame that a wide audience won’t rush out to see this in the midst of blockbusters. Prepare to watch or do something happy after watching this.