Genre: Drama

Director:  Evan Oppenheimer

Cast: Brett Dalton, Stana Katic, Alessandra Mastronardi, Alessandro Preziosi,

Emily Atack, Robert Aramayo, and Marco Bonini

Studio: Orion Pictures

Runtime: 98 Minutes

Rated: NR

Rating ★★★★★

Lost In Florence, written and directed by Evan Oppenheimer, follows former college football player Eric Lombard (Brett Dalton) during a romantic trip to Italy with his girlfriend. After proposing to and being rejected by her, Eric is introduced to the local sport of “calcio storico,” a violent combination of rugby and street fighting. Eric proves to be a natural at the sport and earns the approval of the locals. While playing the sport, he meets Stefania (Alessandra Mastronardi), the sister of his teammate, Paolo (Alessandro Preziosi), with whom he begins to form a passionate relationship.

While Lost In Florence may sound like a fairly generic film, I remained hopefully it would be anything but. A film can have a clichéd plot but if the execution is done properly, it will still be entertaining. Sadly, that is not the case with Lost In Florence as it is equally as bland as the generic sounding plot.

Eric and Stefania share a romantic moment.

The film’s storyline is as predictable as you may think. As the movie progresses, it is easy to guess what will happens next; and the further it advances, the more obvious it becomes. The result is a film with a pace that becomes slower as time passes.  

It doesn’t help that with what little plot the film has barely anything happens. For a story about romance and sports, there are not many scenes involving either one. This really hinders Lost In Florence because it becomes hard to care for anything that does happen.

The only memorable character is Eric, primarily due to Dalton’s performance. Despite spending the majority of the first act moping around, eventually Dalton is given more to work with; and as a result, his character becomes more charismatic. He and Mastronardi do have believable chemistry and at times, it is entertaining to watch. This doesn’t save the movie entirely by any means, but it helps the experience from being a complete slog.

Despite being shot in Italy, the cinematography is lacking. As beautiful shots slip by, instead of helping the film, they serve more as a commercial to visit the beautiful country.

The opening ceromony for calcio storico.

The most underutilized aspect of Lost In Florence is the use of calcio storico. Eric is told multiple times how violent and dangerous the sport is, but from what we’re shown yet, it looks like any other sport. The few scenes of the sport lack any grit or impact; and in turn, the stakes never seem that high.

Lost In Florence is far from being the worst film ever, but it does nothing to stand out from the crowd. If for some reason you’re in the specific mood to watch a romantic sports flick that takes place in Italy, this might satisfy that need. Otherwise, Lost In Florence is a trip you won’t remember.

Lost In Florence opens in theaters and on demand, Friday, January 27, 2017.

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3809276/

Website: http://www.LostInFlorenceMovie.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LostInFlorenceMovie/

All photos © 2017 Orion Pictures. All Rights Reserved.