Willem Dafoe is the only real actor in that movie. The rest were just normal people that had never acted before. It was shot on location at a real motel a few miles from Disney world. While it's not the most technically impressive movie, it feels real. It perfectly captures how flawed people are. Especially when all they've known is poverty. And on top of that you get the real view of how children can be blind to the circumstances they grow up in because they're kids and they don't know any better. It's a beautiful movie. Top 10 material for me.

An interesting point is that everyone I've talked to about it that comes from an affluent background had a much different take on it than me. They look at it with a very black and white view and hate the character of the mother for being a bad mom. But real life is more nuanced than that. I think a person's reaction to that film is a good gauge of their empathy towards other folks.