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of their 'elder sisters'. In a broader societal context, young males - uneasy at late 20th century
society's value system of success at all costs - were also realizing that their fragility was one
of the qualities characterizing their identity. In this light, the film's English and Italian titles
each reflect a perspective in the film: the voyeuristic perspective (Stealing Beauty) - which is
articulated in different ways - and the feminist perspective (lo ballo da sola 1 1 dance 'on my
own", where 'sola' refers to a female character).
Plot summary
Lucy Harmon (Liv Tyler) is a perceptive American teenager who is determined to shape her
incipient love life beyond the models established by society. At nineteen, she is still a virgin,
since she rejects the concept that one's first sexual experience is either a means of ridding
oneself of virginity, as if it were a millstone, or merely a matter of curiosity. She desires to
make love to Niccolo, a youth she had met during a visit to Italy, and with whom she has
been exchanging letters. The opportunity to see him again occurs when, as a birthday present,
she returns to Italy to have her portrait done by the painter lan Grayson, the husband of
Diane, the best friend of Lucy's late mother. Lucy stays at the Graysons' Tuscan country
house as she seeks to make her romantic dream come true and to discover her biological
father's identity. What other characters in the film - namely Diane's children from her first
marriage, Christopher and Miranda, the English writer and cancer victim Alex, the French art
dealer Mons. Guillaume, and Noemi, a journalist who writes an agony column - perceive as a
'flaw' in Lucy's character, is a quality that makes her an object of voyeurism by two other
characters, Carlo Lisca and Richard Reed. Disillusioned by Niccolo, Lucy chooses his less
attractive brother Osvaldo, whom she discovers is the real author of the letters. Inspired by
her Miranda ends her relationship with the cynical Richard, whereas the revelation that lan
Grayson is Lucy's father remains a secret between them.
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