X
- 2020
- R
- IFC Films
- 1 h 34 m
- 2020
- R
- IFC Films
- 1 h 34 m
Summary Bohemian London artist Robert (Liam Neeson) returns to Italy with his estranged son Jack (Micheal Richardson) to make a quick sale of the house they inherited from his late wife. Neither expects to find the once beautiful villa in such a state of disrepair. Renovations go badly, with father and son soon finding themselves at odds. Rober...
Directed By: James D'Arcy
- 2020
- R
- IFC Films
- 1 h 34 m
- 2020
- R
- IFC Films
- 1 h 34 m
Made in Italy
44
6.1
Where to Watch
Summary Bohemian London artist Robert (Liam Neeson) returns to Italy with his estranged son Jack (Micheal Richardson) to make a quick sale of the house they inherited from his late wife. Neither expects to find the once beautiful villa in such a state of disrepair. Renovations go badly, with father and son soon finding themselves at odds. Rober...
Directed By: James D'Arcy
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
44
8% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
92% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
44
8% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
92% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The actor James D’Arcy (“Dunkirk,” TV’s “Homeland” and “Broadchurch”) wrote and directed this, and he tends towards the maudlin at times. He sets up a sort of competition for Natalia between father and son, which is mercifully dispensed with.
Visually, Made in Italy is reminiscent of another escape-to-Italy romance, Audrey Wells’ 2003 "Under the Tuscan Sun," starring Diane Lane (and also featuring Duncan). As these types of fantasies go, that movie was as satisfying as a deep sigh. Made in Italy is less so. But remember — we came for the scenery! And on that score, Made in Italy is a low-cost souvenir of the Tuscan-villa dream so many of us harbor, without the headaches of rewiring old electrical systems or fixing broken shutters.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 User Ratings
6.1
38% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
38% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
23% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 User Ratings
6.1
38% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
38% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
23% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
It seems bizarre to read so many critics comment on this film missing the romance mark, failing to warm the heart or bring laughter.
Bizarre only because that is clearly not the intention of the film. This film is purely a vehicle to explore grief, through death and death of several marriages.
What is most surprising is the film doesn't rest on a the common trope, that one teary conversation fixes all ills.
It's clearly not a perfect film, but then the twists of a broken heart rarely are.
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The mutual grief and abiding love felt by the Irish actor, 68, and his son, 25, cuts close to home and brings the film a touching honesty it otherwise sorely lacks.
Along the way, good food is eaten, the scenery is fabulous, and when the son and a local woman meet cute she not only speaks excellent English but is gorgeous and endlessly understanding. There are some laughs. There are some tears. There’s even a little swearing. Made in Italy has been saddled with what must be the year’s least-deserved R rating.
Predictable, affable, and completely guileless, the only part of Made in Italy that distinguishes it as having been made now, rather than any other random point in the last 30 years, is how grizzled Neeson's beard has become. The hapless English romantic lead bumbles on.
Those in the market for domestic drama, sexual tension and humorous mishaps against a backdrop of sawing and sweeping would be advised to try any home renovation show over this.
A cringingly syrupy tale of overdue bonding between an estranged father and his only offspring.
Made in Italy is a decent movie about a father and son regaining traction after an obvious disconnect. This comes in timing with the son's dreams being put on the line and forces them to revisit both a physical place that they've left to rot - as if left in limbo for years - and feelings that neither of them ever seemed to give space for during times of loss and the core part of their family dynamic abruptly changing. As they work together to pour back into the home they wear off the surface dust and begin to uncover the beauty of what the home really meant and how they can re-establish themselves in life in healthy and promising ways. The landscape around this home is beautiful and inviting but the lack of TLC given to the property makes for a deeply heartwarming story between two people who have forgotten what an art it is to live, love and create - together.
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Liam Neeson took a break from his string of increasingly diminishing action films to make this aspiring sensitive drama. Sadly, his charisma and talent can’t overcome this trite recipe for treacle. Michael Richardson plays his son, who entreats his dad to rehab their old family house in Tuscany so he can use the money to buy an art gallery. The actual renovation quickly takes a back seat to the inevitable charms of Italy, especially one young woman. There’s also an inescapable conflict between father and son revolving around their past pain and loss. Nothing about this narrative is even remotely surprising. Every plot turn has been seen many times before to much better effect. The only thing to recommend this film is the continual montage of gorgeous countryside scenery.
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(Mauro Lanari)
The few positive parts of "Made in Italy" evoke those of "Life as a House" (Winkler 2001), a film that, when I happened to watch it again, I found with more flaws than I remembered and yet not of amateur level like in this debut of D'Arcy.
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