From the description you might thinks this is some kind of uplifting film about getting by in hard times. It's not. It's a character study of a class of people who have pretty much given up and don't even realize it. To be fair, society has no use for them either, and they live week to week in a budget motel in Florida with no prospects for the future. It's bleak but fascinating as their lives slog along, a successful mom working in a diner, a guy who thinks things will be better in New Orleans, and the central figure, a petit-crime type and occasional hooker and her adorable, pre-criminal kid. You get the impression that the mom's childhood was much like her kid's and the cycle will repeat.
Don't expect plot - there isn't any. It's a series of vignettes that drive from point to point along their hopeless lives. It's captivating and you want to look away, but it's hard not to watch. Part of my reaction comes from the fact that this is such a true story. Early on, I was a social welfare examiner in New York and had to deal with people like these characters and this film could be a documentary. Many of my clients would say they've had it with us and move to Florida to start a new and successful life and they usually returned within a year to resume the same life as before. They were at once, maddening and heartbreaking in real life and the director and actors in this film capture that so well. You'll find yourself with a mixture of anger and empathy.
Don't expect plot - there isn't any. It's a series of vignettes that drive from point to point along their hopeless lives. It's captivating and you want to look away, but it's hard not to watch. Part of my reaction comes from the fact that this is such a true story. Early on, I was a social welfare examiner in New York and had to deal with people like these characters and this film could be a documentary. Many of my clients would say they've had it with us and move to Florida to start a new and successful life and they usually returned within a year to resume the same life as before. They were at once, maddening and heartbreaking in real life and the director and actors in this film capture that so well. You'll find yourself with a mixture of anger and empathy.