Script Analysis: “The Florida Project” — Part 4: Themes

Read the script for the critically acclaimed indie film and analyze it all this week.

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this bi-weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule:

Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
Tuesday: Plot
Wednesday: Characters
Thursday: Themes
Friday: Dialogue
Saturday: Takeaways

Today: Themes.

I have this theory about theme. In two parts. First, a principle: Theme = Meaning. What does the story mean? Second, while there is almost always a Central Theme, there are multiple other Sub-Themes at play in a story. Therefore the question, What does a story mean takes on several layers of meaning?

Time to ponder themes in The Florida Project. You may download the movie script here.

Written by Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch.

IMDb plot summary: Six-year-old Moonee courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Walt Disney World.

What themes do you see in play in The Florida Project?

Major kudos to Georgina Hutchinson for doing this week’s scene-by-scene breakdown.

To download a PDF of the breakdown for The Florida Project, go here.

For Part 1, to read the Scene-By-Scene Breakdown discussion, go here.

For Part 2, to read the Major Plot Points discussion, go here.

For Part 3, to read Characters discussion, go here.

To access 60+ analyses of previous movie scripts we have read and discussed at Go Into The Story, go here.

I hope to see you in the RESPONSE section about this week’s script: The Florida Project.

For more Go Into The Story Movie Analysis posts, go here.

For Go Into The Story Script Analysis posts, go here.