A bohemian artist who travels from London to Italy with his estranged son to sell the house they inherited from his late wife.
Ah, the cinematic allure of Italy. Americans flock in hordes to the sun-toasted, vineyard land of romance. There’s Diane Liane, basking “Under the Tuscan Sun,” in the embrace of her Ideal Man. About 160 miles south of her, Kristen Bell figures, hey, “When in Rome,” and commits herself to a frankly dodgy relationship. Close by, Alec Baldwin composes a love letter to the Eternal City (and his adolescence), signing it “To Rome with Love” — while 200 miles north of Diane, in Lombardy, Armie Hammer calls Timothée Chalamet by his name. Now, Liam Neeson and Micheál Richardson travel to the Bel Paese, joining Diane in Tuscany to find love, redemption, and reconciliation. Actor James D’Arcy’s feature-length debut may not have been entirely “Made in Italy” but it is certainly soaked through with palpable love for the country — as well as clichés and syrupy sentiments.
Jack (Richardson) plans on selling Robert’s (Neeson) — his estranged father’s — house in order to save his art gallery. Robert is an aging, promiscuous, bohemian artist, residing in London; he agrees to accompany his son to Tuscany. They find the house dilapidated — filled with cobwebs and Robert’s old paintings and memories — albeit surrounded by gorgeous vistas and vivacious neighbors. As they work on restoring their abode to its former glory, Jack falls for local chef Natalia (Valeria Bilello) — who coyly offers to buy the house in exchange for her scrumptious bowl of risotto. Inconsequential complications arise: Natalia’s ex-husband surfaces; Jack confronts Robert about his deceased mother; Jack’s own marital woes surface… I won’t spoil whether our father-son team ends up selling the house or not — let’s just say it’s a whopper.
Judging by this film, D’Arcy is a capable but bland filmmaker, yet to imbue his projects with a distinct style and real substance. “Made in Italy” is as breezy as they get, without so much as attempting to delve deep into our heroes’ psyches, a-la the aforementioned “Call Me by Your Name”. Mike Eley’s camera captures the splendor of Tuscany; it’s good to see Neeson shed his “Taken” persona in a relaxed role (although it could have been so much more nuanced); and Lindsay Duncan provides spunky support as Kate, their no-nonsense estate agent. But, unless you find an incident involving a stolen ragu recipe hilarious, there’s not much here to tickle the funny bone, nor to squeeze the tear ducts.
“Made in Italy” is like a soothing blanket for those dreaming of escaping to the Repubblica Italiana for a few hours. It’s predictable and quaint, and once again views the country through a very Hollywood prism — all sunny facades, and residents eager to help and fall in love. There are worse ways to escape our dreadful reality.
In Theaters and On-Demand Friday, August 7th
