Mike Valentine had avoided Florida in the past. The location was too associated with memories for him to want to go there. However, he was unable to refuse Moss Yankov’s request to go to Florida in order to meet up with his girlfriend Delly West. Although Florida Man begins with Mike looking for Delly, it ultimately turns into a gold quest. According to legend, Central Florida is home to a pirate’s treasure from 1715. As a gambler who loves going to great lengths to feed his addiction, Mike could not dismiss the chance of discovering a treasure box. But his trip to Florida was about more than just a girl and some money; it was also about facing his past and the family he had chosen to avoid.
Mike Valentine: Why Was Mike Distant From His Father?
Because of the traumatic recollections he had, Mike never wanted to return to his birthplace. Despite the fact that they were so similar, he hated his father more than anyone. Sonny, an ex-cop as well, made money by trading in criminal enterprises. He might have hated him a little bit more since he was so much like his father. His father had never shown him affection or tenderness as he was growing up. Delly adamantly declined Delly’s invitation to bring his father along because he was convinced that his father would cheat him and take the riches for himself. When it came to business, he never gave his relationship any consideration.
Mike did not really strive hard to overcome his addiction, despite his desire to do so. Iris was important to him, but even she wasn’t a compelling enough argument for him to give up the chase and pursue honesty. Mike talked about his upbringing at an al-anon meeting that he and Sonny had spontaneously decided to attend to divert attention from their true purpose. He blamed his father for facilitating his mother’s suicide because he could never get over it. When he was younger, he recalled that his father always kept his gun in a locked case, but on the day mother killed herself, the case was unlocked. Because of her cancer, his mother made the decision to shoot herself in the head. Mike attributed her demise to Sonny.
When the body was removed and he was made to scrub the bathtub as a 13-year-old, he felt that this was the moment he entirely transformed as a person. After hearing his confession, Sonny went on to describe how helpless he felt at the time. He had seen firsthand the excruciating suffering his wife had to endure. She would frequently urge him to kill her so she wouldn’t have to suffer. After witnessing her suffering for days, he decided to leave his gun unlocked so that she might choose her own fate. Making the choice was difficult for him, but he did it out of love and with no intention of ever letting Mike know. Mike was scheduled to stay out till late that day, but he regrettably went back home earlier than anticipated. Instead of comprehending the circumstance and the suffering his mother was experiencing, in Sonny’s opinion, he simply turned the entire thing about himself. In Mike’s defense, he was only a very bewildered thirteen-year-old, so perhaps Sonny ought to have been at his side to explain everything to him. However, the gap between the father and son widened over time, eventually leading to the father’s complete hatred of Sonny.
The only thing about Mike’s life that seemed promising was his affair with Delly. She brought him a sense of hope during his darkest moments. He could make love to her till morning while also watching her dance all night. She offered him some hope in life even though she was just as lost as he was. No matter how hard the situation was, she had the power to chose to abandon it all. Delly inspired Mike to think big and provided him a purpose to resist giving in to his circumstances. When he unexpectedly saw her laying on his bed, he was beyond thrilled and relieved. The sorrow of losing her once made him understand how much he cared for her. Even though everyone around him was arguing that he shouldn’t have chosen her, Mike ultimately came to the conclusion that she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Delly West: Why Did Delly Escape To Florida?
Delly West abruptly lost her father, Arthur, and everything in her life altered. Before her mother explained it to her, she was unaware that her father was a money launderer. She borrowed money from her father and opened a tavern with it, never ever questioning the source of the funds. She used to reside in a world where everything was predetermined and she had no cause for complaint. When her mother told her that her father had been killed by a mobster who traveled to Chicago and threw him off the roof of a building, she was inspired with a new sense of purpose. She didn’t have the money to continue living her extravagant lifestyle, so taking revenge on her father gave her motivation to continue.
Delly thought fate had worked its magic when she realized Bogdan Yankov was already dead. At the memorial service, she met his son Moss, and they later fell in love. She had changed from being her father’s little princess to the mobster’s girlfriend, allowing her to once more enjoy life’s comforts. Even though Moss was wealthy and powerful, she could not ignore Mike because of something about him. They connected because of his sympathy and the similarity of their circumstances.
Delly always had to rely on a man (first her father, then her boyfriend) to make her reality better, which is possibly why she made the decision to flee to Florida alone in order to reinvent herself. She really did discover her true calling in Florida. She pretended to be dead in order to get Mike to wager on the gold that was thought to be concealed in Central Florida. After arriving in Florida, she discovered how to use the guys in her life for her advantage as opposed to allowing them to control her. Her objective was straightforward: she just wanted to find the gold and remain alive. She had no regard for the other members of her team. She was surrounded by people who minimized her intelligence, yet in the end, she was the only one who had found out the gold enigma. In essence, Florida Man is the tale of Delly West and how, in the end, she was able to achieve her goals. She had correctly asserted that everyone else was only a part of her story and that it was her story.
Moss Yankov: Why Was Moss Insecure?
It was impossible to tell from looking at Moss Yankov’s innocent face how violent he could become. Although he did not have the usual appearance of a mobster, he had picked up some skills from his father. Moss wanted to persuade those around him that he was competent enough to succeed his father. Moss had a reputation for being cruel, yet he was not a very intelligent person. More than anything else, he loved the spotlight, and he leaped at the chance to invite guests to Delly’s funeral just to receive their respect. Delly had always given him the confidence boost he needed, and he wasn’t ready to give it up. Everyone around him understood how easily he could be misled and that he would not stay long in the industry, despite the fact that he demanded respect from those who had once worked for his father.
Moss had always been envious of his sister Dori because she worked for the government, in contrast to her father and brother. The fact that his sister was more resourceful and competent than he was infuriated him. Maybe he planned great comebacks for her all the time, but he never succeeded in delivering them. Moss’s greatest fear was being dismissed, therefore he tried all in his ability to project a terrifying image. Even so, it was insufficient to make up for his lack of intelligence. Though it was obvious that he was lost, he wanted to think that he was just like his father.
Florida Man has a problem with having too many characters and none of them had enough depth to make them more fascinating. The characters came off as a little shallow and abandoned because the emphasis was on establishing a sense of chaotic bizarreness. The only person in the entire cast worth praising is Delly West. Delly West is so convincing because of her background, which shows how she went from being an innocent Chicago girl to carrying out a heist in Florida. She could cross the bridge to ultimately save the life of her lover since she was not terrified of the repercussions.