Rent Made in Italy (2020)
3.0 of 5 from 110 ratings
1h 30min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- "Made in Italy" is a heart-warming comedy, set in glorious Tuscany, about bohemian London artist Robert (Liam Neeson) who returns to Italy with his estranged son Jack (Micheál Richardson) to make a quick sale of the house they inherited from his late wife. Renovations go badly, and father and son find themselves at odds - not for the first time. As Robert and Jack painstakingly restore the villa to its previous glory, father and son also start to mend their relationship. The future may now look quite different and surprise them both.
- Actors:
- Yolanda Kettle, Micheal Neeson, Souad Faress, Liam Neeson, Claire Dyson, Lindsay Duncan, Valeria Bilello, Helena Antonio, Lavinia Biagi, Gabriele Tozzi, Marco Quaglia, Gian Marco Tavani, Costanza Amati, Eileen Walsh, Flaminia Cinque, Julian Ovenden, Chelsea Fitzgerald, Deborah Vale
- Directors:
- James D'Arcy
- Producers:
- Pippa Cross, Sam Tipper-Hale
- Writers:
- James D'Arcy
- Studio:
- Lionsgate Films
- Genres:
- Comedy
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Reviews (3) of Made in Italy
Fluff - Made in Italy review by PD
This one's a terribly sentimental tale of overdue bonding between father and son over repairs to a Tuscan villa packed with memories, the main interest being Liam Neeson's role as Robert, a former toast-of-the-town, now-struggling artist. Both Neeson and his real-life son Micheál Richardson do ok with a painfully thin, pedestrian script and there's the occasional funny line, but for the most part this is a fluffy, banal piece which does not succeed in making us engage with either father or son. Annoyingly also, it simply sidelines the potentially interesting female characters - expat estate agent Kate (Lindsay Duncan - she's worth more than this), and local restaurateur Natalia, who is the all-too convenient romantic interest for Jack, tiresomely sketched as the 'dream girl' to balance Kate's 'strong woman'. Although to be fair, the film doesn’t do much more for its main male characters, wasting away the story’s emotional real-life echoes - the on-screen pair’s tearful confrontations around grief and locked-away memories seem puzzlingly forced here. Harmless enough I suppose, but it's never a good sign that some great shots of the countryside are what you'll remember most. Mercifully short.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Unsatisfying Comedy Drama - Made in Italy review by GI
Watchable and at times very entertaining romcom about a young man and his difficult relationship with his father all made good by love in the sun with a beautiful woman. Micheál Richardson plays Jack, in the throes of an uncomfortable divorce and shocked when his ex informs him she's selling the London art gallery that Jack manages. Desperate to buy it Jack convinces his curmudgeonly artist father, Robert (played by Richardson's real life dad Liam Neeson) to sell the Tuscan villa inherited by them when Robert's wife & Jack's mother died years ago in a car accident. This cues a family crisis as the two have to travel together to the rundown villa, repair it and generally try to heal the rifts between them. Of course disillusioned Jack finds love in the beautiful landscape and all ends well for everyone. The trouble with this film is the clumsy script and the character arcs that are all predictable and unrealistic. Neeson's Robert goes from womanising bohemian to guilt ridden father and grief stricken husband in a flash. You know its coming but its all too hurried and unsatisfying. Some characters are underwritten and drift into the narrative but then quickly disappear. There's plenty to like here though and the film is very much like A Good Year (2006), but it has laughs and frustrations in equal measure. By the end you're desperate for a full on happy ending but you don't quite get it which leaves the film feeling a little underdone.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
Bit of a turkey - Made in Italy review by MM
Others have outlined the storyline, so will not repeat. Just to say that the Italian countryside and atmosphere are well captured, but the script is thin and the acting seems sadly forced. Didn't make it to the end of the film, which was a disappointment as I love all things Italian!
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.