The Good: Decent characters and acting
The Bad: Telegraphs whole story, Loses direction and purpose in the middle
The Basics: Under The Tuscan Sun winds and drags, but the actors give it a good shot and that's still worth something, even if it doesn't make it into the permanent collection.
For several months now, my mother has been bugging me to watch the movie Under The Tuscan Sun, though she and I share little in the way of cinematic tastes. This could be a side effect of me generally having taste and her enjoying movies for entertainment value alone. I do love my mother, though, so when mom wanted to sit down and make holiday cards together and throw a movie on, I was given the opportunity to watch Under The Tuscan Sun.
Under The Tuscan Sun finds protagonist Frances suddenly alone and divorced after learning her husband was cheating on her. She loses most everything in the divorce and sets off with her three boxes of possessions that she decides to keep for a vacation to Tuscany. There, amid the beauty of the land and the laid-back eccentric pressures of Katherine, she suddenly decides to live spontaneously and buys a Tuscan villa from a Contessa. Soon, she's dabbling in love, helping her best friend/sister Patti out and renovating the place the way she wants it.
The fundamental problem with this movie is that it tells the viewer almost everything before it happens. So, for example, Frances' sudden interest in the villa telegraphs her stumbling upon the villa, where she is told there has to be a sign for her to take it, when a sign promptly appears on cue. Nothing is particularly drawn out in terms of keeping the viewer guessing. So, when Frances commits to a relationship, given how everything else in the movie falls along predictable lines, its outcome is thoroughly predictable. Ultimately, the movie sets up Frances' wish which she articulates and at the end, one of the character points out how she has received all she wished for. There are no real surprises here and as a result, the movie has long sections where it is not terribly engaging.
This is especially true in the middle, right after Patti arrives in Tuscany. When that happens, the movie flounders, though the relationship between Patti and Frances is interesting. It is in this section that we have such pointless, dragging scenes as Marcello rescuing Katherine from the fountain where she is aimlessly, drunkenly wandering. I suppose that's a good metaphor for the movie. Frances' relationship with Martini continues to near-miss, but the story takes an abrupt turn and follows Frances' quest to help young Pawel find love as opposed to her actually dealing with her own story.
The dialogue is decent and the acting is generally good. The characters are interesting at best, entertaining at worst. Frances, who bears much of the weight of the movie, works well. She begins the story as a woman broken by loss and she grows up and out from there, which is what a compelling character arc ought to do. She is accompanied by characters that are generally "types" though and that's somewhat problematic. Of course, we only see Patti and Katherine really in their relations with Frances, but their interactions too conveniently serve the purpose of advancing Frances' character arc.
What keeps the movie watchable, other than the excellent cinematography, is the acting. Sandra Oh gives a wonderful supporting performance as Patti. She brings humor and subtlety to a movie that is often lacking in both. Raoul Bova is fantastic as the kindly Marcello, bringing such on-screen charisma and presence to the role that one finds oneself rooting for Marcello - who is married - to have a relationship with Frances. Bova plays the part simply and with a projected air of goodness that makes the character work wonderfully.
Diane Lane carries the movie as Frances and it is her enthusiasm for the part that keeps the narrative flowing through some of the parts that otherwise drag. She has excellent ability to modulate her moods from lost to gaining traction and she does it with a sense of realism that feels very organic. Lane's ability to play curious carries her through several scenes where her character is simply following others or looking around corners. She is up to the task of leading this movie and she mixes humor well through some of her facial expressions.
Ultimately, this was a close call for me. I'm recommending it as fare to enjoy when you are doing other things, not as a real "sit down and watch" movie. It's not a keeper in my book, though it was worth one viewing. And, at the very least, the scenery is nice.
For other works with Sandra Oh, check out my reviews of:
Hard Candy
The Princess Diaries
The Red Violin
5/10
For other film reviews, be sure to check out my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2012, 2006 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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