Nick Scott reviews: Made in Italy

ARTbop Film Reviewer Nick Scott assesses life under the Tuscan sun in “Made in Italy”. Nick says:-

I was interested in this film because it starred Liam Neeson. With the exception of “Batman Begins”, where he appears to be the good guy but thanks to a good script changes to a bad guy, Neeson tends to be typecast these days as the good guy in Hollywood films. Anyway, it is all serious stuff.

“Made in Italy” is supposed to be a comedy. Whether or not this works is up to the viewers judgement – I think it could have been funnier. It is an English story set in Italy, so don’t go expecting subtitles. This was strange in the opening film of an Italian film festival but a bit of change from the normal is always welcome.

The basic plot involves the restoration of a Tuscan Villa, by a man and his son. The surroundings of Tuscany are well used but not relied upon.

Liam Neeson’s performance was good and a welcome departure from his normal roles. The son is played by Neeson’s actual son. It must have been easier for these two actors to create these characters and makes the on screen relationship more believable. The other main character, a woman who comes into the son’s life finds it hard to be of much importance in the story. Although this was probably done on purpose. A comedy must be easier to write with less characters to consider.

So, would I recommend It? With a few changes in the script it could have been a very funny comedy but this was clearly not what the director was aiming for and it ends up being a good balance between laugh-out loud comedy and serious drama. There is little to offend people in the content. The son swears a bit but this is in his character and appropriate. If not hilarious then this film leaves the viewer feeling satisfied at the end, and this is not common these days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o94mymAi-s

Nick Scott Nick Scott has a B.A from The University of Waikato where he studied film under Sam Edwards. Nick has retained a keen interest in cinema. He studied Te Reo Maori at Te Wananga O Aotearoa part-time for 3 years and then from 2014 to 2016 Nick collaborated in writing “The Traveller’s guide to Maori Place Names”. Nick is a regular Film Reviewer on ARTbop.

Nick Scott has been given occasional free tickets to see films at The Rialto, Tauranga. Check out the cinema, it’s current and future showings and special offer days at https://www.rialtotauranga.co.nz/