Product: Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
Rating: 4.0
Under the spell of Tuscany (and Diane Lane)...
I'm in love with Diane Lane. I honestly wish that her career post-Oscar nomination would have been slightly better (or a whole lot better) than what it was, but I'm just happy that she's still working, and she really does bring a lot to what she does. The year following her Oscar nominated turn in `Unfaithful' (where she should have won in a cakewalk) she put out one of those standard chick-flick type rom-coms that get made every other month. Basically the `Eat Pray Love' of the 2000's (just far less muddled and unfocused), `Under the Tuscan Sun' is basic and predictable and yet elevated thanks to Lane's dedicated performance that the focus brought to fleshing out the depth in the story.The film follows Frances, a middle aged married woman who is under the impression that her life is fine until her husband leaves her. It was sudden and depressing yet she picks up (at the urging of her friends) and moves on, halfway around the world, to Italy. She buys a villa, that needs a lot of work, and then sets off on an adventure of self-re-discovery as she chases what she thinks she needs and ultimately finds what has been eluding her all along.If you can get past the idea that this is yet `another one of those movies' you can see the magic in every frame. Lane is a revelation, delivering a great performance that truly lifts the film to places it couldn't have gone without her. The cinematography and mere sets alone are spellbinding (having just been to Tuscany I can say that it really is as magical as these films make it look) and the way that the story develops is also quite admirable because it doesn't exactly follow that generic formula (especially when concerning Frances's love interests).It is well worth a gander, especially if you are a fan of these types of chick-flicks. It may be nearly ten years old (man, how the time flies) but it still holds up upon recent viewings and is the perfect film for a cozy night in with your significant other and a tall glass of wine.