Diane Lane... Will You Marry Me?
Seriously... that is an open-ended and
legitimate proposal. Call me!
Roger Ebert
affectionately called this film a prime example
of "yuppie porn." It is indeed. Every single
shot of this fairy tale drips with the angst of
rich middle-aged women. This film represents all
those dreams of leaving one's husband, flying
off to a romantic European setting, and falling
in love with a mysterious stranger whose accent
is as noticeable as his five o'clock shadow.
The woman who gets to experience that dream in
this film is none other than Diane Lane, whose
performance in last year's 'Unfaithful' was one
of the very best I had ever seen. In this story,
however, she is the one who is cheated on by her
husband. He files for divorce and she is
consoled by her two lesbian friends, who give
her a ticket on a gay tour of Tuscany, which
they can no longer go on because of a surprise
pregnancy. She reluctantly takes the gift and
finds herself traveling the region in search of
new hope.
That hope comes in the form of a rundown old
villa in the beautiful countryside of Tuscany.
She immediately buys it and goes to work
rebuilding and refurnishing both the villa and
her life. The film introduces her, and us, to
all sorts of improbably quirky characters... the
builders, her neighbors, an eccentric lady who
seems to be living in a Fellini movie. None of
them are particularly believable, but they are
all tremendously likable. It all goes hand in
hand with the notion that this is a fairy tale
more than a literal adventure.
Romances bloom and fade, storms rattle the villa
to its foundation, Polish boys fall in love with
Italian girls, lesbians break up, faucets don't
work... it's all so darn colorful and lively.
'Under the Tuscan Sun' may be a tad light and
fluffy, but it is very hard to get bored during
the film. The two hours flew by and I had a
smile on my face for almost the entire running
length. I can't complain too much about that!
Other than the gorgeous cinematography, the main
star of this film is Diane Lane, who probably
needed to a do a lighter film after completing
the adulterous thriller for which she was Oscar
nominated. She has a marvelous ability as an
actress to be sympathetic in almost every film
she does. It is very easy to root for her
characters to find happiness. When she smiles,
we smile. When she cries, we cry. There aren't
too many actors or actresses who generate more
emotional range than she. Diane Lane is one of
the very best we have.
Overall, this film is easy to like and
impossible to hate, unless you are a big grouch.
But this 'chick-flick' is too corny and and
lightweight to be considered great cinema.
However, I can easily recommend it to anyone who
is in the mood for a few good laughs and some
cheesy romance. I think the only group that
should steer clear is the 'typical teenage
zit-faced boy who would rather watch Vin Diesel
blow something up than Diane Lane making out
with and getting felt up by a Mediterranean
hunk' demographic.
©
Written by TC Candler
Richard
Propes' Comment
I enjoyed
"Under the Tuscan Sun" a considerable amount
more than I expected, yet I can't deny it began
to wear on me by the end of the film.
The film, directed by Audrey Wells, is beautiful
to watch and infinitely interesting thanks to
another fine performance by Diane Lane, who
plays a newly divorced woman who receives the
gift of a gay travel trip to Tuscany...she ends
up relocating herself to Tuscany...and, well, as
TC so adequately wrote...the fairy tale begins.
I agree with his appraisal that this film is
VERY MUCH a fairy tale...it requires a definite
degree of mental suspension...and I was not
quite willing to suspend as much as the film
needed me to...so, I guess you could say I
didn't quite surrender to its charms.
The film is filled with interesting
characters...and while they may not be fully
developed they are, nonetheless, interesting
throughout the film.
This is a romantic film in nearly every sense of
the word...it radiates sensuality and love in
nearly every frame. There is a tenderness here
that is simply lovely to see on screen.
Jacob
Hall's Comment
n/a
