The Beauty of Florence Is the Main Selling Point of “Lost In Florence”

“Lost In Florence” (Orion Pictures)

A few days ago I watched “Rome Adventure” again. This is a movie from the early ’60’s that starred Troy Donahue as a carefree American on vacation in Rome. The movie had a very simple plot but was noted for its musical score and the beautiful scenery.

Now in 2017 everything old is new again as I watched Lost In Florence,” a movie about a carefree American spending his summer in Florence. The plot is simple but the scenery is breathtaking. Oh and the carefree male is played by Brett Dalton, an actor who has more talent in his little finger than Troy Donahue had in his entire body.

Dalton plays Eric Lombard, a man who had dreams of playing professional football but that didn’t work out. Now he and his girlfriend Colleen (Emily Atack) are vacationing in Florence and staying with his cousin Anna (Stana Katic) and her husband Gianni (Marco Bonini). Eric has vague plans of going to law school some day, but not yet. This does not sit well with Colleen who wants him to have more ambition.

One day Gianni introduces him to the sport of Calcio Storico, a combination of football, soccer and mixed martial arts. It is a brutal game played in Florence and Eric is soon swept up in the competition. He also soon discovers the team captain’s girlfriend Stefania (Alessandra Mastronardi) and begins a relationship with her.

Dalton is currently being seen in the faith based film “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone” and is attracting some attention with his performance. In this film he once again exudes a cocky charm that draws attention to his looks and acting abilities, but the character as written does not draw you to his side. Eric is a person who uses others to get what he wants and has very few redeeming qualities.

The movie is not going to win any awards for its acting but when Dalton and Katic share the screen the movie does come alive. These two have a very natural connection and the cousin relationship is fun for the audience to watch. If the two women with whom Dalton is romantically involved in the film had Katic’s talent, the movie would have been much more enjoyable.

One thing that doesn’t require talent (except for the talent of the cinematographer) is the beauty and pageantry of Florence. If you have never had a desire to visit this amazing city you will have after seeing this movie. There is beauty everywhere the characters go, and when they venture out into the hillsides it becomes pure geographic perfection.

The film is unrated but would probably fall into the PG-13 category for violence, profanity and partial nudity.

The script for “Lost In Florence” is only so so, but the acting by Dalton and Katic, plus the beauty of Florence and her surroundings make it worth watching. Maybe only on DVD but worth watching just the same.

I scored “Lost In Florence” a found 5 out of 10.

Jackie K Cooper

www.jackiekcooper.com