If you don’t want to go to Italy after taking in “Under the Tuscan Sun,” you might as well stick to Spaghetti-Os. Fashioning a refreshing adaptation of Frances Mayes’ best-selling memoir about living in Italy, director Audrey Wells has created a surprisingly original movie about a sensitive, caring woman trying to learn to live again.
Diane Lane, fresh off her Oscar-nominated performance in “Unfaithful,” portrays book reviewer Frances Mayes, who has just endured a devastating divorce. Her pregnant friend (Sandra Oh) gives her a ticket to Italy, hoping that the trip will lift her spirits. When she arrives, she impulsively decides to purchase a broken-down old villa from real estate agent Signori Martini (Vincent Riotta). As she settles down to the task of renovation, Frances surrounds herself with a group of unique characters including Katherine (Lindsay Duncan).
Soon Frances begins to adapt to life in Italy and even has a chance meeting with the handsome Marcello (Raoul Bova) in Rome. After a bit of flirtation, she responds to his over-the-top line with “That’s exactly the kind of thing we American women think Italian men say.”
The pick-up resonates inside her and she asks him to sleep with her. He responds, smiling “That’s exactly the kind of thing we Italian men think American women say.” Their passionate romance seems out of sorts from the relaxed tone of the film, but makes sense in light of the way things play out between them.
The eminently watchable Lane carries the film through her full-blooded portrait of an intelligent, sensuous woman learning to live again. “Tuscan Sun” allows her to explore a more sympathetic, identifiable character than in “Unfaithful.” Of the large ensemble cast, Riotta makes the strongest impression as a family man who falls for Frances but channels his emotions into something more honorable.B
Duncan is fun as the hedonistic aging beauty that lives life based on the philosophies of Fellini.B Her drunken recreation of “La Dolce Vita’s” fountain scene is a highlight for movie aficionados everywhere.
Though director Wells has taken what could have been nothing more than an episodic travelogue and given it real heart, “Tuscan Sun” is the kind of film where the scenery is the real star.
Director of Photography Geoffrey Simpson captures the region’s warm light through all the seasons and, more impressive, depicts the transformation from Frances’ initial, tourist’s-eye view to the outlook of someone at home. Tuscany has never looked more gorgeous. It’s just the vacation we need.
