Moonee, a six-year-old girl, spends her days running wild at the Magic Castle Inn and Suites, a budget motel near Walt Disney World. She lives with her mother, Halley, who has lost her job as a stripper and is barely scraping by. The film follows her summer break, a season of wonder, possibility, and adventure, while the adults around her struggle with hard times.
Trailer, via A24.
Moonee’s World
Brooklynn Prince plays Moonee with a wide-eyed, unfiltered energy that anchors the film. Her downstairs neighbor, Scooty, and their friend Dicky form a ragtag group of kids who explore the neighborhood, beg for ice cream, and start fires at abandoned condominiums. The adults can’t keep up, and the film never pretends otherwise.
Halley’s Hard Times
Halley, played by Bria Vinaite, is the film’s emotional center. Her job loss affects her eligibility for TANF benefits, and she begins a side hustle selling knockoff perfume to tourists in hotel parking lots. The film shows her daily grind, and it never softens the circumstances.
Bobby’s Patience
Willem Dafoe plays Bobby, the Magic Castle’s manager. He ejects drug dealers, prepares expense reports, and does repairs. He is also protective of the children, even when they shut off the motel’s power. Dafoe’s performance was judged to have been his finest in recent memory.
The Children’s Joy
Jancey, played by Valeria Cotto, becomes a new friend after Moonee and Scooty befriend her grandmother, Stacy. The children’s adventures are joyful and carefree, a sharp contrast to the adults’ grim daily struggles. The film juxtaposes these two worlds without ever fully resolving them.
The Children’s World Shrinks
Dicky’s family moves to New Orleans, and Scooty finds a lighter in a box they left behind. Ashley, Scooty’s mother, catches him in the act and forbids him from hanging out with Moonee or Jancey. She also severs ties with Halley and Moonee. The children’s world grows smaller, even as they carry on with their games.
Reception
The film premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and was released theatrically in the United States by A24 on October 6, 2017. It was acclaimed by critics, with praise directed at the performances and Baker’s direction. Dafoe received Best Supporting Actor nods at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and Crit.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Cannes premiere | 2017 |
| US release | October 6, 2017 |
| Moonee’s age | 6 |
- Runtime: 112 minutes
- Genre: Drama
- Directed by: Sean Baker
- Written by: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch
- Cast: Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, Willem Dafoe, Valeria Cotto, Christopher Rivera, Caleb Landry Jones
The film’s tagline, “Find your kingdom,” captures its spirit. It is a story about finding joy in a world full of hardship. It is a masterful slice-of-life drama, a film that captures a moment in a child’s life with a precision that feels both immediate and timeless.
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