The Florida Project – like rhubarb and custard

This film is like eating a bowl of rhubarb and custard.

It’s all from the kid’s eye view of Moonie and her pals and it’s this perspective that gives it joy, wonder and hope.

So why does it make me think of rhubarb and custard? Because it reminds me of the best of school days with the warm custard but it’s tinged with realism and a harsh, biting reality – the rhubarb.

The subject matter is grizzly but it is charming.

Moonie, who has the most expressive face ever, and her little gang – which includes her best friend Scooty (a boy) and Jancey (who’s living with her grandmother and new to motel-living) – are wild but totally adorable and utterly loveable. They make fun of the long summer holidays out of nothing (literally nothing) and even when they’re being punished they find the delight. While they’re cleaning the spit they spat on a car and being reprimanded by all the ‘grown-ups’ they still manage to have an absolute ball. They’re happy as long as they’re together.

Bold, tenacious single-parent Halley loves her kid Moonie. There’s no question. And she is trying to get through the gritty reality she’s in with no money, no home, no food and no support.

She wages war against the only support that’s coming her way – Billy – the manager of the apartments she’s living in. Billy is hard and gruff on the outside – yes, a bit like a billy goat if you like – but he cares about these kids. And he cares about Halley. They’re all thrown together in a decrepit motel just outside DisneyLand – tourists come to this place by mistake – or to pay for sex.

The kids love Billy (in a way they would never admit to themselves or to him or anyone else) and involve him in their games. The backchat these kids doll out is genius. Moonie is a sassy little raconteur giving it some with her quick-witted retorts.

Billy acts all mean and rule-abiding but he’ll break the rules for the kids and he’s got their backs. He’s absolutely got their backs. He’s like the dad that they’ve all never known but need.

It gets darker towards the end of the film as the reality of living day to day sets in and when Moonie’s face crumples yours will crumple too. Mine did. You can’t help but fall in love with Moonie and her feral friends – even if they’re up to no good.

One of the major delights for the kids is ice cream, waffles and maple syrup – and omg I was practically salivating for some by the time the movie was over. The way they forage for their food is worth of Alan Sugar acclaim.

The joy the kids get from the sugar packed treats is so vivid  that I headed straight over to the nearest MaccyDees after the movie and gorged. If they’d sold rhubarb and custard I’d have leapt the counter for it. But they didn’t. I settled for apple pie.