20 Best Movies Of 2017

10. The Florida Project

Sean Baker's 2015 movie Tangerine, which was shot entirely on an iPhone, marked him out as an upcoming director to keep an eye on. His new effort, The Florida Project, confirms him as a director with a gift for portraying the side of America that they don't sell on billboards. That contrast is perfectly realised by this movie's setting, taking place in real run-down motels that exist within the shadows of Walt Disney World.

The film's focus is on 6-year-old Moonee and her mother Halley, who live in the Magic Castle motel and struggle to get by. It's a snapshot of their life over a single summer, but as it's mostly seen through the eyes of Moonee - in a remarkable performance from Brooklynn Prince - it has a humour and lightness that prevents it from becoming too heavy.

It's colourful and empathetic, never judging the characters but offering real criticisms of the system that has led them to being in the situation they're in. Prince and Valeria Cotto (as Halley) are breakout stars with performances that are by turns winning and tragic, while Willem Dafoe, as the motel manager who serves as something of a father figure, gives a career-best showing.

The film highlights the contrasts between the Disney Florida and those who live beneath it, and it itself is a movie of duality. Sweet, charming, and hilarious; poignant, tragic, and harrowing.