Brian C wrote:mfunk9786 wrote:Still sad that The Florida Project's subject matter was just too uncomfortable for it to leave a lasting mark on this race.
I doubt that's it - I think it probably just lost out to
Three Billboards for the "Garish Indie Social Posturing" slot.
I'll take the bait just a bit - I thought
Three Billboards was easily the worst film I saw theatrically all year (I'm pretty selective about my viewing, so I don't doubt there were other, worse movies released). It's almost an exhaustive compendium of all the possible missteps a screenwriter and director could make when addressing various current hot button social issues. Particularly one who is writing about a country and a culture not their own. How that film in all its incompetent, tone-deaf, unearned self-righteous glory could even begin to be a key part of the Awards season dialogue this year is pretty disheartening. Even moreso with so many critics vocally praising it - it's not even like we can blame the unwashed masses for this one.
The Florida Project on the other hand handily avoids these pitfalls, never tipping over into sanctimoniousness, just a real and messy portrayal of living a marginalized and extremely precarious existence in America, surviving a week or even a day at a time. I was convinced it could be this year's
Moonlight - a socially conscious film with heart (giving it broader appeal), yet made in a distinctly un-Hollywood art film fashion. It's a shame it slipped through the cracks, and I think part of the responsibility has to be with A24 giving it a smaller release than was really necessary. A lot of people who wanted to see the film simply never had it showing anywhere close to them, or it showed for only a few weeks and then vanished.