Lane dazzles in brilliant 'Under the Tuscan Sun'

By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service

UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN (PG-13) Three-and-a-Half Stars (Good-to-Excellent) Diane Lane shines brighter than the title character in "Under the Tuscan Sun," Audrey Wells' delightful film interpretation of the best-selling book. Lane's vibrant performance is as vital to this amusing saga as a bottle of good Chianti is to a heaping plate of pasta. Also starring Sandra Oh, Raoul Bova. Touchstone, 113 minutes.

Lane is Frances Mayes, the central character of the memoir. The book focuses on an American who moves to Italy where she deals with the complications and joys of buying a villa. But writer-director Wells embellishes the story generously with more romance, delightful friendships and humor.

Loosely adapted, this cinematic "Tuscan Sun" is a heart-warming ode to a woman's rebirth, depicting the colorful journey of a depressed divorcee restored to the land of the living.

As the film opens Frances (Lane) seems content as a wife and college literature professor in San Francisco. Good friends and the good life surround her. But when her husband dumps her, life turns bleak.

Frances' best friend Patti (Sandra Oh) buys her a flight to Tuscany, hoping a 10-day vacation will help her friend rediscover her joie de vie. Little does she know Frances will buy a Tuscan villa on impulse and actually stay in Tuscany. Perhaps it's the female version of the male midlife crisis that results in the purchase of a tomato-red Ferrari.

So there's Frances, buying a villa in Cortona that's a decided fixer-upper. Yet, it's just the diversion she needs. She hires an eccentric crew of Polish emigre construction workers who spend months shifting walls, gutting the interior, rebuilding foundations and all manner of repair. (We never learn where Frances gets the cash for all this effort; surely not as a college professor.)

While they're rebuilding the house, Frances begins to rebuild her psyche. The first step is new friendships, including the charming, kind-hearted real estate broker (Vincent Riotta) who closed the deal; and the colorful if sadly sweet neighbor (Lindsay Duncan) who imagines her life as scenes from a Fellini movie. Finally, Frances feels strong enough to risk romance, literally running into an incredibly handsome Italian named Marcello. Raoul Bova plays him with suave charm. But will she be able to handle it if the affair is short-lived? Has she grown that strong?

As you'd hope, "Under the Tuscan Sun" is beautifully filmed, a robust, sun-drenched travelogue with ample footage shot in Cortona, Montepulciano, Rome and Positano. But it's just an added bonus to a marvelous movie.

We've long respected Lane as a dramatic actress — and thought last year's Oscar nomination for "Unfaithful" was long overdue. But here she displays just as much skill and comfort in a lighter romantic role, buoyed with humor and affection. The supporting cast is strong, as is the writing and settings; but like a fine Chianti Classico, Lane is the delight that lingers.

Rated PG-13, with profanity and implied sex.