‘Made in Italy’ brims with Tuscan charm
This is not actor James D’Arcy’s first encounter with writing and directing a film. He had that experience a few years ago with an oddball comic short titled “Chicken/Egg,” which starred Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, then in his sixth season as Jamie Lannister on “Game of Thrones.”
D’Arcy, making his name as a quiet but dashing screen presence since the late 1990s, had been writing feature scripts for years, and came close to directing one of them, but “Made in Italy” was the first to have all of its pieces fall into place.
And his feature debut behind the camera is a rarity — a sweet and funny and charming and very positive movie that’s not filled with clichés.
His story teeters close to the edge of a couple of them, but never falls into the abyss.
With a small cast of mostly likable characters, and a scattering of goodfor-nothings to make the nice folks look even better, D’Arcy’s story introduces Jack (Micheál Richardson), the manager of a London art gallery, and his soon-to-be ex-wife Ruth (Yolanda Kettle) —
one of the nasty characters — whose family owns the gallery and is now selling it, leaving Jack out in the cold.
What’s a gallery manager who is going through a messy divorce, has no other career skills, has been sad and lost since his mother died in an accident when he was 7, and has no relationship, beyond an estranged one, with his aloof father, to do?
Well, look up dad, take a drive with him to their abandoned old family home in gorgeous Tuscany, sell the place, and have enough money to buy the gallery from his wife’s family, of course!
You might wonder if the uncomfortable presence between the father and the son will somehow work out, or if the bitterness emanating from the son’s bad marriage will lead to some kind of happiness for him, or if the mission to Italy will result in dreams coming true back home.
Those are common and expected story arcs in small, arty films like this.
But “Made in Italy” depends as much on characters and their development as it does in the stories going on around them.
It was a spot-on decision to have son Jack and father Robert be played by real-life son and father Richardson and Liam Neeson. It’s not that there’s that much of a physical similarity, but it clearly comes across that these two men know and understand each other, and everything clicks when they step into character, even when their roles call for two people who do not know each other very well. That’s called good acting.
Their arrival in the little Tuscan village where the house has been empty for 20 years signals that it’s time to introduce some comedy — Richardson proves to be adept at pratfalls — and some other characters — it’s not long before we meet beautiful restaurant owner Natalia (Valeria Bilello) and business-minded estate agent Kate (Lindsay Duncan).
In short order, the plotlines kick in: Do we fix up this dust heap or do we sell it as is? Or do we keep it?
Arguments between father and son on those topics ensue. Is Jack getting a little crush on Natalia, even though she has a daughter and an ex-husband nearby? And then the father-son problems are plopped down in the middle of it all.
“Made in Italy” emerges as a story about unhappy people in a beautiful place, and how they’re affected by it.
“Made in Italy” opens in select theaters and will be available on most VOD and cable platforms Aug.
7.