GetOut Magazine

Diane Lane gives captivating performance in 'Under the Tuscan Sun'
By CRAIG OUTHIER
Get Out
Sept. 25, 2003

What, exactly, compels a successful book critic to uproot her entire life and move to Italy? Could it be the parasitic husband who not only cheats on you but then has the temerity the temerity, I say! to actually demand alimony? And not only that, but kicks you out of your chic San Francisco walk-up so he can live there with his new girlfriend? His new hiss! pregnant girlfriend?

In light of these troubling facts, a change of scenery might be in order. And what marvelous scenery it proves to be in "Under the Tuscan Sun," a visually spellbinding foray into the heart of Italian wine country, where no life- affirming anecdote goes unheard and no romantic wound goes uncleansed.

Diane Lane fresh from her white-hot, Oscar-nominated performance in "Unfaithful" finds herself on the other side of the adultery equation as Frances Mayes, whose bitter mouth and burning eyes suggest that discovering an affair is almost as exhausting as having one. Booked on an Italian tour group by lesbian best pal Patti (Sandra Oh), sad Frances makes the impulse buy of the century: a rustic (i.e., utterly ruined) villa nestled in the verdant bosom of Tuscany. Quite conveniently, the property comes equipped with several features that metaphorically signify Frances' spiritual progress: a faucet that spews no water, an old man who silently leaves flowers at the gate, but never waves hello.

As Frances goes to work restoring the villa with the help of a friendly trio of Polish laborers, a simultaneous though no less obvious restoration takes place: that of restoring her faith in love. Or, at least, finding a sympathetic Italian stud who will say things to her such as: "Signora, don't be so sad. If you do, I will be forced to make love to you." Those Italians, they have so much to teach us.

Pleasingly, director Audrey Wells whose 1999 debut, "Guinevere," is the best movie you've never seen doesn't rush to fill Frances' romantic void (although many men in the audience will surely want to). A series of romantic misfires and abortive affairs reveal to Frances the truth about love: that you can't force it, and that simply knowing it exists sometimes has to suffice. Unfortunately, Wells bails out on these worthwhile ideas with a gift-wrapped epilogue designed specifically to mollify audiences who because of too many Harlequin novels and Lifetime movies, perhaps have no imagination.

Wells who adapted the script from a loosely autobiographical novel by the real Frances Mayes deftly manages a colorful and talented supporting cast. Canadian-born Oh (Last Night") is wry and compelling in the obligatory best friend role, and British actress Lindsay Duncan adds a sweetly tragic accent as Katherine, a one-time Fellini ingenue hopelessly and happily adrift in la dolce vita.

Lane the one-time Time cover girl now enjoying a well-deserved career resurgence gives her most captivating performance to date as Frances. Charitable, determined and smarter than any breathtakingly gorgeous woman has a right to be, she's a dual-purpose heroine: Women want to be her, men want to stumble into her at the market and spend maybe a month helping her replace those troublesome bathroom fixtures. As such, even though it's sappy as all hell, you can't help but feel good for her when the water starts flowing and the old man starts waving.

Under the Tuscan Sun

Starring: Diane Lane, Sandra Oh, Raoul Bova
Playing: Opens Friday throughout the Valley
Rating: PG-13 (sexual content, profanity)
Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes
Grade: B-