Review: 'Made In Italy' A Moving Father-Son Drama

In the excellent and unsparing film "Ordinary Love," earlier this year, and opposite the amazing Lesley Manville, Liam Neeson reminded cinemagoers that he's an extraordinarily talented actor capable of so much more than the rage-fueled retribution driving his recent studio outings. Thankfully, he continues his road-back-to-craft journey in James D'Arcy's deeply affecting new film, "Made in Italy."

Deceptively promoted as a light-hearted father/son bonding comedy set amidst the gorgeous Tuscan countryside, the film is so much more. Certainly, the stunning Italian landscapes are pointedly accentuated, but the work proves to be a rather penetrating, bittersweet tale about tragedy, loss, mourning, understanding, and renewal. It's a father/son love story. And the casting of Neeson and his real son (by his late wife Natasha), Miche�l Richardson, makes the film all the more intense and heartbreaking. (Natasha Richardson tragically died in 2009.)

The story begins with Jack (Richardson), who runs a London art gallery owned by his estranged, perpetually annoyed wife, Raffaella (Helena Antonio). (We are never told why she is so perturbed, leaving the poor actress little to do but grimace). Raffaella plans on selling the gallery. Jack wants to buy it, but doesn't have the money and has the bright idea to sell an abandoned Tuscan home he and his painter father, Robert (Neeson), co-own, but have not returned to since Robert's wife/Jack's mother died in a car accident two decades earlier. Robert is a bit apprehensive, but agrees.

To say the house is falling apart is an understatement (the front door falls off when they arrive). So Jack enlists the services of a practical English real estate agent, Kate (Lindsay Duncan), who advises they get to work fixing up the dilapidated villa if they want to make any profit. They do, via the help of some locals. On a trip into town, Jack meets a young and newly-single Italian chef, Natalia (Valeria Bilello), and the two slowly get to know one another. Meanwhile the already-messy relationship between father and son strains even more when memories of their past begin to haunt both men.

Actor James D'Arcy ("Dunkirk," "Avengers: Endgame") makes his feature debut as writer and director of "Made in Italy," and it is a formidable one. The film is never too maudlin or melodramatic, nor is it glib or silly. Mercifully, for the most part the Italian villagers aren't cartoon caricatures, as is usually the norm. The comic moments are just funny enough without taking away from the tone, and mostly involve Jack's being a bit of a klutz. There's also a bizarre moment where three characters eat pasta in a scene that's shot in a manner that invokes a twisted kind of "Tom Jones." Oh, and a scarily funny scene... with a weasel.

It is indeed refreshing to see Italian actors cast as Italians. Bilello isn't given enough to do to truly show her range, but is a wonderful presence in the film. Of course, you can almost taste the delicious pasta, seducing you from your HDTV.

I was grateful the hinted-at difficulties with Natalia's ex didn't become some heroic subplot involving Jack (or his father).

The film's focus rightly remains on the complicated relationship between Jack and Robert and, later, the trauma of losing a loved one, the guilt those left behind often feel, and how none of those intertwined feelings ever really go away. "I think about her every day," Robert eventually admits – a line that made my heart hurt.

One can only imagine that Neeson and Richardson channeled their own grief in their portrayals. It's painfully evident, to the point where we feel like peeping toms in the absolutely riveting confrontation sequence near the end of the film. Eerily, even though a different actor was used for photos of the wife and mother (which made sense since she was Italian), Natasha Richardson's presence is felt in almost every scene.

D'Arcy has assembled a terrific group of thesps.

Duncan is always a treat, even in this smallish part. Gratitude to D'Arcy, for not going the predictable route with her character (although it might have been fascinating to watch).

Neeson manages nuance with ridiculous ease. He's so captivating, especially when he underplays. Richardson is also terrific, and manages to more than hold his own in scenes with his father, assuring cinema lovers that the Redgrave dynasty will continue.

The film is exquisitely shot (by Mike Eley), and the score (by Alex Belcher), as well as the songs selected, add to the movie's charm.

Kudos to the artist who created Robert's full wall mural (a piece he painted when he was in intense agony after losing his spouse), which is a fascinating character of its own in many respects.

There is an interesting idea in "Made in Italy" about the art connoisseur/curator as a type of artist him or herself. In anger, Robert reminds his son of the clich�d notion that there are those who can do, and those who can't... fill in the blank. This brought to mind patrons like Peggy Guggenheim, who was in no way an artist but her fierce love, protection and committed to supporting artists and their work as well as exhibition curating, can be argued to be something of an art form itself.

Another, more penetrating, theme that is mined in the film is that of identity. Jack is haunted by the fact that he is half Italian, but he knows little about that part of himself and his ancestry. "Made in Italy" sets him on an odyssey where he begins that exploration. Robert is in need of his own identity quest, and appears to finally be ready to take the trek. I'd love to revisit these characters in ten years to see where they've ended up physically and psychologically.