Movie Review: Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)

Under the Tuscan Sun is based on a memoir by Frances Mayes, Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy. Full disclosure: I love that book. (Check out our Under the Tuscan Sun book review for more details on why.) This movie is very different from the book, but I love it, too.

Diane Lane plays Frances Mayes, a writer who discovers her husband is having an affair with a younger woman. As expected, she becomes depressed, angry, and sad, but fortunately she has friends who convince her to travel to Tuscany for a little rest and relaxation time…which quickly turns into a life change when Frances makes the arguably rash decision to buy a villa and work to rebuild it.

It’s an obvious metaphor (yes, some might call the movie cliché), but it works. And it makes for a heartwarming inspiring movie about finding your own path, discovering new things, and rebuilding your life, even when things don’t quite work out the way you thought. (Another lesson here: hard work is necessary.)

Diane Lane does a brilliant job of capturing Frances’s stress and hope throughout the process and the supporting cast is also excellent at portraying well-developed and likeable characters.

And, of course, Italy is almost a character itself–the colors of the Tuscan countryside, the sun-soaked ancient villa, and the very very appetizing pasta, fresh produce, and ruby red wine cannot be missed.

Some might call this a typical shallow romantic comedy, but if you look and are ready for it, there’s much more to it. We featured this in our article on “Travel Changes You: 20 Books and 20 Movies About Self Discovery” for a reason–it is about a woman who discovers a new way to define her life, her family, and her home. (And lucky for us, it’s a beautiful journey.)

Naturally, the movie also lends itself well to a Movie Club, so we created a Book Club/Movie Club guide for Under the Tuscan Sun with discussion questions for the book, the movie, or both! (And, of course, some ideas to make the discussion especially unique!)