Made in Italy (2020)

Manuel São Bento August 19, 2020

★ 5/10

If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog :) Coincidence or not, but the latest movies I've seen are all from debutant directors and/or writers. James D'Arcy, who most people will recognize from the MCU as Edwin Jarvis, leaves the acting to Liam Neeson and his real-life son, Micheál Richardson, and occupies both the director and writer's chairs for the very first time (at least in a feature film). It's also Micheál's acting debut, who chose to share the screen with his father in what became a personal project of theirs. D'Arcy's screenplay connected with both actors in an emotional way (Neeson's wife also died from an accident when Micheál was young, just like in the movie's narrative), and this contributes to the best component of the whole film. Neeson and Micheál's chemistry is palpable, genuine, and extremely compelling. Every dialogue sequence bet…

Peter McGinn June 1, 2021

★ 7/10

This movie is fairly predictable and doesn’t seem to have many bursts of originality, but I think it is a pleasant enough watch and accomplishes the modest goals it sets out for itself. It tells the story it wants to tell and allows the main characters to show some growth. I bet some reviewers who panned this movie enjoy action thrillers and can go through an entire month of watching them and not see (or wish they had seen) any character growth by the lead roles. Made in Italy is sort of like a romantic comedy without the comedy and with the romance in the background. In a rom-com, one of the two lovers has to make a grand gesture or sacrifice at the end. They don’t here, because the romance is a side story. Instead it becomes clear that either father or son will have to make a sacrifice or grand gesture before the credits run. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch Made in Ita…

tmdb28039023 August 25, 2022

★ 1/10

Jack Foster (Micheál Richardson) manages his ex-in-laws' art gallery until his ex-wife Ruth (Yolanda Kettle) informs him that her family is selling the gallery. Desperate for money to buy the gallery himself, Jack convinces his father Robert (Liam Neeson), a bohemian painter, to sell the Tuscan villa they inherited from their mother/wife, whose accidental death when Jack was a young child drove a wedge between father and son. After traveling from London to Italy, Robert and Jack find the house in a severe state of disrepair. We don't have to wait long for the other shoe to drop; the house and its subsequent renovation is a transparent and unoriginal metaphor for Robert and Jack's relationship. As soon – and it's very soon – as the above is made clear the film becomes predictable and its conclusion obvious, and we're left with nothing to do except enjoy the bucolic Tuscan lands…