neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Under The Tuscan Sun
	Audrey Wells Diane Lane, Sandra Oh, Lindsay Duncan, Raoul Bova 2003		Feminism gone fluffy, "Under the Tuscan Sun" is an optimistic, mildly humorous, undoubtedly romanticized film based on a memoir by author Frances Mayes. The result is negligible, but it works as a vehicle for Oscar-nominated actress Diane Lane, whose interpretation of Mayes initially presents her as a powerfully attractive, recently-divorced San Francisco writer mired in solitude and misery. Best friend Patti (Sandra Oh), a sassy lesbian, tries to help Frances escape the doldrums by sending her on a vacation to sunny Italy. When the reluctant traveler reaches Tuscany, she's so enchanted by the place and its quaint, quirky denizens that she makes a snap decision to buy a run-down villa and relocate there. It's rougher going than she expects, so she hires a construction crew made up of colorful Polish immigrants. She starts to rely on the kindness of her new neighbors and bonds with a mysterious British woman (Lindsay Duncan) who lives in the nearby town. Can love between Frances and a handsome Italian man be far off? Written and directed by Audrey Wells with the rudiments of a stock Hollywood chick-flick, it's tolerable due to Lane's allure, Oh's spunk and lovely scenery from Tuscany to the Amalfi coast.