'The Florida Project' Ending, Explained: Was It Real Or Just A Fantasy?
When it comes to dramas, there's something unique about what The Florida Project (2017) delivered, as it was both a unique character piece and a story about what life is like when living next door to a place like Walt Disney World.
Through the eyes of a young girl, we follow her day-to-day activities as she lives with a mother struggling to make ends meet while living out of a hotel. It's a raw character study of lives many people must unfortunately go through. But as things get real, the conclusion leans into a fantasy, making you wonder if the ending was real or a fabrication.
'The Florida Project' Is About a Forgotten Part of Florida and the People in It
Set in a motel on US-192 in Kissimmee, Florida, The Florida Project explores the lives of those inside, specifically the motel's owner and his two guests, Halley and her six-year-old daughter Moonee. Unfortunately, while Halley is Moonee's mom, she struggles to be mature and hold down a job as she's both enjoying her youth and struggling with trying to be mature.
As a result, she makes choices that include prostitution to make money and put friction between her and her daughter while also jeopardizing her place in the motel. But for as much as this film is a story about a mother and daughter, it's also about the message being sent about what life is like so close to the Happiest Place on Earth. More so, the fact that for a great Disney, what's next to it struggles.
The Florida Project highlights 192 and the many motels and people that live there, just trying to get through the day and do what they can to grow and live better lives. In the case of Halley, the conclusion is set up when she finds herself homeless for a time and trying to provide for herself and her daughter even if she's an unfit mother, leading to a heartbreaking but inevitable conclusion.
'The Florida Project' Ends on a Very Real Note Hidden in Fantasy
By the end of the film, DCF is in contact with Halley over how she's cared for Moonee, and Halley has been anything but cooperative; the moment they catch wind of her job, things get worse. With local law enforcement in tow, they decide that Moonee has to go to foster care. But unaware of what's really going on, Moonee takes off and runs to her friend.
As her friend sees her crying, she takes Moonee's hand, and they run all the way to the Magic Kingdom and enjoy a lively day at the park. Compared to how raw and real the movie is, this scene is the most out of place because even though they are next door, Disney is so expensive and so far away that something so great seems impossible. This is made even more true by how the director wanted to surprise the girls with this trip to make the happiness even more real.
The Florida Project used its ending to highlight the hardships of real life but also had audiences wondering how valid the events are. In reality, the truth hits much harder than fiction, and it made for a powerful conclusion that sticks with you.
Is 'The Florida Project's Ending Real Or a Fantasy?
The Florida Project's end feels like and is framed as a fantasy because, ultimately, it is. The odds of two small children getting into the park to enjoy the day without parents are outlandish enough, but even more so is the distance they would have to travel without knowing where they are going. But the fantasy makes way for a much sadder reality that makes the scene all the more important to viewers.
Running to a magical place is a way to show how kids process hardships they don't understand. Moonee's story is going in a totally different direction now that she can't control and doesn't even know where to begin. The best they can do is, for one more time, run to a fantasy and play like everything is okay before the big changes upend everything they know and cherish.
It's a hard and sad pill to swallow, but an important one for history. People see Disney and forget about the lives that exist around it, and the admitted strangeness of it all. Nevertheless, it's still there and still important, and the people there deserve attention. The ending may be a fantasy, but the message being sent is 100% real and deserves to be looked at.
