by Megan Bailey, Staff Writer

In the time-honored tradition of road trip films, I’d like to take you on a journey through the Sunshine State, discussing different areas in Florida and how they’ve been depicted in film. This is by no means an exhaustive review, but it’s my attempt at a highlight reel of locations throughout the state. While Florida is a hellscape nightmare politically, it’s an interesting location visually. The sweltering heat, bright colors, and proximity to water make it feel like a fever dream. Like nothing all that bad can happen to you in this sort of climate. Or perhaps that every bad thing can happen to you. Which makes it the perfect backdrop for all kinds of stories: crime, emotional breakdowns, personal revelations, and coming-of-age, just to name a few. 

Let’s start on the West coast of Florida, in Tampa, where I grew up and where the majority of Zola (Janicza Bravo) is set. When Zola (Taylour Paige) comes to Tampa with Stefani (Riley Keough), they arrive at a dump of a hotel, and the alarm bells start to ring in Zola’s head. Throughout the film, we see a run-down area, not much to look at. But there are glimpses of Florida staples, like a Publix, a beachside pool, and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a landmark in the area. The film ends with a shot of it: a long bridge that leads out of Tampa, bringing Zola back to her normal life with one hell of a story (or Twitter thread, at least). 

Let’s start on the West coast of Florida, in Tampa, where I grew up and where the majority of Zola (Janicza Bravo) is set. When Zola (Taylour Paige) comes to Tampa with Stefani (Riley Keough), they arrive at a dump of a hotel, and the alarm bells start to ring in Zola’s head. Throughout the film, we see a run-down area, not much to look at. But there are glimpses of Florida staples, like a Publix, a beachside pool, and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a landmark in the area. The film ends with a shot of it: a long bridge that leads out of Tampa, bringing Zola back to her normal life with one hell of a story (or Twitter thread, at least).

Magic Mike (Steven Soderbergh) is also set here, featuring a similar run-down environment. The yellow filter and hazy feeling make it clear that Tampa isn’t exactly a successful place for Mike (Channing Tatum), and it contrasts with the clarity of the strip club scenes. While the strip clubs in Zola are dilapidated as well, the Magic Mike scenes are much clearer. 

A little further south, you’ll hit Sarasota, where Christine (Antonio Campos) is set. Christine (Rebecca Hall) is a woman out of place, having moved to Florida after a mental breakdown in Boston. The bright blues in her house and the palm trees all serve to contrast her deteriorating physical and mental health. As the film goes on, we see that everyone Christine works with at the news station has their own problems, most wanting to leave the area for bigger opportunities. But Christine unravels beyond anyone’s expectations. It’s an interesting dichotomy between the outside—colorful, hopeful even—and what was going on inside her.

Now we’ll swing down to Miami, a very popular setting in films. There are films with lots of crime, either being committed or solved, like Scarface, Bad Boys 2, and 2 Fast 2 Furious, that take place here. Bad Boys 2 filmed at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens and famously featured several Miami landmarks as settings for crimes and explosions. 2 Fast 2 Furious is the first movie in this cinematic road trip to feature a hallmark of coastal living in Florida: a drawbridge. In this case, they speed right over the open drawbridge and Brian (Paul Walker) wins the race because of it. But more on drawbridges later.

A lot of films in Miami have excellent use of color. In films like Step Up 4 Revolution, Do Revenge, and The Birdcage, the bright colors in Miami are used to enhance the storylines. The fourth Step Up film is essentially a portrait of trying to dance away gentrification, and while it’s depicted earnestly, it reads as a bit silly in this series where the big final dance scenes are usually competitions with other crews, not against forces of evil. Do Revenge is a bubblegum-pink revenge tale, and the exaggerated Miami Beach setting enhances those vibes. In The Birdcage, we follow Armand (Robin Williams) and Albert (Nathan Lane), a gay couple who have to try to pass as straight–essentially removing color from their life–in order for their son, Val (Dan Futterman) to be accepted by his future in-laws. The colorful night-life on Ocean Drive and in Armand’s club serve as a reminder of just how bright the life they’ve built together is. 

In a historical setting, there’s One Night in Miami…, Regina Hall’s directorial debut. It features the Fontainebleau hotel, a famous landmark in Miami, back in 1964. The hotel setting– especially in the fireworks scene on the rooftop–shows us a Miami of the past, still in development but well on its way to being a tourist destination. In the film, Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom, Jr.) and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) are in town for Cassius Clay’s (Eli Goree) boxing match, and they meet at the hotel to catch up. Once again, the colorful rooms and bright green vegetation outside contrast with the conflict between the four men. Scarface also features the Fontainebleau, but this time in the 1980s. Most of the film was not shot in Miami, due to protests about representation of Cubans in the film. But the Fontainebleau serves as a backdrop, and the chainsaw fight scene was shot on Ocean Drive.

And then you have Moonlight, in which the setting is so visceral. You can feel the heat outside, the ocean water, and the sand on the beach. It’s a beautiful depiction of Miami as a real place, as people who’ve grown up there experience it. In this film, Barry Jenkins is less interested in showing bright colors as contrast and more interested in showing you a part of Florida that he knew, Liberty City. Some of the best Florida films show you exactly how it feels to be there, what it means to have grown up there. (More on this later.).

In Moonlight, we see the bright greens outside, but we also see the blues in the ocean, the blue of the night sky. When Chiron (Alex R. Hibbert) learns to swim, the camera is right down in the water with him, waves cascading over it, and we feel like we’re in there too. We see older Chiron (Trevante Rhodes) driving down to Miami from Atlanta (a long drive, if you’ve never done it) to reunite with Kevin (André Holland) after a decade.

Edging up the coast, we have Three Months, set in Hollywood, near Fort Lauderdale. In this, we have another character in emotional turmoil, set against bright colors and a gorgeous beach. Caleb (Troye Sivan) faces waiting three months for HIV test results, while preparing to move for college in the fall. He goes through a lot of strife in those three months, including getting stopped by a drawbridge more than once—a unique kind of hell. When we see Caleb on the beach or riding his bike through the beautiful Florida landscape, we can feel how heartbreak doesn’t necessarily feel good in a place like this. It’s lovely to look at, but the landscape is oppressive, even so.

And then, of course, you have films set in Orlando, specifically in theme parks. Bring It On: In It To Win It is mostly set in Universal’s Islands of Adventure because of a cheerleading competition. And in fact, some of their cheerleading moves are inspired by rides in that park. For Walt Disney World, we have films like Tomorrowland. These are candy-colored, showing us a certain part of Florida the way that people remember them when they’re young.

But in Kissimmee, just outside of those theme parks, we have The Florida Project. This film depicts the type of poverty people live in on the outskirts. The bright colors remain, but they’re again in contrast to the world the characters actually inhabit. We follow Moonee (Brooklynn Prince), a child who lives with her mother at the Magic Castle Inn. The purple hotel building, the Jungle Falls Gift Shop with its distinctive wizard head, the Twistee Treat ice cream shop, these are all quite magical. But they’re things she can’t fully access when her mom is struggling with money. Being able to afford to live in the hotel with its weekly rent, or having to ask people to give her money for ice cream, these aren’t easy for Moonee and her mom. All these walks past or to bright places and the tricks the kids play on tourists are all ways for her to play in a place that, ironically, isn’t meant for kids.

And, again in contrast to films like Bring It On: In It To Win It, the ending of The Florida Project shows Moonee in Disney World, but it goes by quickly. A quick run through the park, in part because she’s sneaking in and in part because the filmmakers didn’t want to get caught filming either, and it’s all we’ll get to see of her before her world is turned upside down and child protective services takes her away from her mother. It’s not exactly the dream she’d hoped for.

As we round up this review of Florida on film, I think it’s important to mention that these are all vastly different movies with different viewpoints and aesthetic choices. But when viewed together, they create an understanding of what it’s like to be there, an imaginary landscape, if you will. Florida is wild but also overrun with highways and bridges. It’s hot and oppressive. It’s bright but sometimes dull. Driving the six hours it takes to get from South Florida to the Georgia state line is not for the faint of heart, but I hope I’ve given you some idea of what it feels like to get around.