The Florentine

I have seen the rough cut of this picture and it is worth checking out. There is some fine writing by Damien Gray and Tom Benson ably handled by a good cast. Problem one, they all look too fat and too old for the parts. Problem two, the direction is merely competent. Problem three, no ending. it just kind of fizzles out. Hopefully this was fixed in the final edit. Look for good things in the future from the writers.

We stumbled upon this movie on television (it has been out a while) and were very pleased with it. It has an engaging plot, excellent casting and the characters are very well formed. This must have been an "indie" because we had not heard of it previously. There are notable performances by Chris Penn, Virginia Madsen, Jim Belushi and Tom Sizemore. The story takes place in a small Pennsylvania town and revolves around the wedding of two of the characters.It has a very genuine feel and a some good comedic moments. If you liked "The Brothers McMullen" or "Diner", you will like this movie. The plot has just enough twists and turns to keep the movie interesting without overdoing it.

This movie had such an amazing cast. The performances were solid and some of the most underrated actors in Hollywood starred in this movie. Everyone delivered and I was very impressed! Excellent movie from start to finish.

This movie seemed quite realistic - the actors do a superb job of creating their characters and that's what moves the movie! The scenes seem authentic to me, even though it is outside my own realm of experience. I just happened to notice the title and am glad I stopped to watch. I felt empathy with the bride and wanted a "happy ending" for her. There are some very well known actors there (including two from Saving Private Ryan), and I don't know why this movie isn't being shown on the other movie channels. It would give more people the chance to watch it. Well worth the time. Perhaps a different title would have induced more to view it.

This film is a sensitive depiction of the excitment and drama in the every day lives of people who are familiar to us all. Caught in a place where just scratching out an existance takes all the energy of a group of people who life has forced to use any means available to just get by. The siuations, characters, their relationships and dialogue bring us into a close understanding of life lived with little more than the basics. If you want to see a picture, (more a snapshot), about basic truths that we all share, this is it.

I found the movie itself to be extremely boring. I've seen the movie two times and I really can't tell you what it's about. In summary, it's about a bunch of guys just hanging out. What kept me captivated was the use of my town for the filming of the movie. When the production crew was in town filming, it definitely was a big to-do. I was somewhat disappointed that the movie never made it to the theatre's in this country. Most of the movie was filmed in Easton, PA. The interior of the bar is Mother's Tavern in Centre Square, Easton. The exterior of the bar is the Mount Vernon Ale House, at 6th and Northampton St., Easton, PA. The neighborhood scenes were filmed in South Side Bethlehem, PA and the industrial scenes were filmed at the Bethlehem Steel facility.

This is a 'round robin' of several different stories and groups of characters that intersect each other. This makes for a tough time to follow and get into. The abundant strong language makes for reality, but may offend some viewers. Strong point is very good writing. Stick with this one. There is a diverse gathering of talent featuring: Luke Perry, Tom Sizemore, Virginia Madsen, Chris Penn, Mary Stuart Masterson, Michael Madsen, Burt Young, Hal Holbrook and James Beulushi. On a lazy weekend, a good companion movie would be DINER.

Terrific cast often times goes with not so terrific plot. Terrific plot with not so terrific cast is another misfire. "The Florentine" has both a cast and a plot that equals terrific everything. The interwoven converging stories contain no sex and just a nosebleed of violence, yet the movie works on all levels because of tremendous character development. In this movie nothing else matters except lifelong friendships, and that is a rare and wonderful foundation for "The Florentine". The movie is very quiet, has terrific dialog, surprisingly sharp, yet understated humor, and is positively a keeper for multiple viewings. - MERK

If you like rock solid acting and don't mind slow moving plots, then, this one's for you. The cast is TOP NOTCH, with fine acting and writing (interesting characters and storyline), and fine visuals. The problem is, THE OPENING. The last thing you wanna do is bore an audience for the first twenty minutes. THE FLORENTINE does this BRILLIANTLY. With a little editing, a little TLC, this movie could be first class.