The Florentine (1999)

The bar in an old Pennsylvania steel town, housed with many of life's losers and disillusioned men, is the main setting for this slice-of-life film. Michael Madsen is the bar owner, who is ... See full summary »

Director:

Nick Stagliano

Writers:

Tom Benson, Damien Gray

Stars:

Jeremy Davies, Virginia Madsen, Luke Perry

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeremy Davies	...	Truby
Virginia Madsen	...	Molly
Luke Perry	...	Frankie
Mary Stuart Masterson	...	Vikki
Michael Madsen	...	Whitey
Chris Penn	...	Bobby
Hal Holbrook	...	Smitty
Tom Sizemore	...	Teddy
Jim Belushi	...	Billy Belasco (as James Belushi)
Maeve Quinlan	...	Claire
Lillo Brancato	...	Pretty
Robert Downs	...	Short order cook / diner owner
Burt Young	...	Joe Mc Collough
Jerome Le Page	...	Paris
Kenny Marino	...	Chickie

Storyline

The bar in an old Pennsylvania steel town, housed with many of life's losers and disillusioned men, is the main setting for this slice-of-life film. Michael Madsen is the bar owner, who is deep in debt to the town's book-maker and loan shark Burt Young. Chris Penn is one of the bar's main inhabitants as he hides from his failing marriage to Mary Stuart Masterson. The bartender's sister (Virginia Madsen) is about to be married, and her former fiancé (Tom Sizemore) shows up in town, after leaving her at the altar years before. Con man James Belushi runs a con on Perry to steal the money for the wedding caterer. As every plot in this multi-layered story seems to be at its worst, things look up because of an unlikely hero.

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Plot Keywords:

bar | independent film | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 April 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

A bár

Filming Locations:

Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Initial Entertainment Group (IEG), American Zoetrope, Nazz Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Frankie: What are you doing?
Whitey: I'm making a list of my enemies. I could be here awhile.

User Reviews

Great character study

From a play, THE FLORENTINE is a look at several friends whiling away their lives in an old Pennsylvania steel town. They are slowly preparing for the marriage of the sister (Virginia Madsen) of the local barkeep (Michael Madsen). Among the cast, who spend most of their time in the local bar, called The Florentine, are Hal Holbrook as a retiree, Luke Perry as a naif, Chris Penn as the local tough and Tom Sizemore as a newly minted parolee. Jim Belushi has a spot as a con man and Burt Young also has a small role as a loanshark. Madsen's character is the tie that binds this motley crew. Other females in the cast include Jill Hennessey and Mary Stuart Masterson, both of whom are terrific, although this is really a guys' movie. A great cast, a great play and a wonderful movie that expands the play just enough to keep us riveted.