Product: Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
Rating: 4.0
For Fans of Film ...Not the Book
Not having read the infamous book upon which this film is based, I have no parallels from which to draw (i.e., novel to movie script). But I can rate this movie based on what I saw and how it affected me.Diane Lane's performance was fine. She's an attractive lady who plays a jilted novelist trying to escape a failed marriage by retreating to the Tuscany beauty in Italy. The filming is absolutely breathtaking. The colorful little Italian villas, the flowering sunflowers and olive trees. The ancient artifices along the Italian coastal villages. Beautiful.The story (again, I haven't read the book) was sound, too: a woman trying to rebuild her life by buying and rebuilding a home in Tuscany. She finds out that everything she needs, everything she's hoped for, comes true thanks to this little home and her healing spirit.So many people have given this film a "poor" rating, and I've noticed that most of them have been fans of the novel. But if you haven't read the novel, and want to see some excellent cinematography and a good story, pick up this movie and enjoy. You won't be disappointed.