Made in Italy (2020), directed by James D’Arcy

Imminent divorce will see Jack Foster lose the successful art gallery he manages unless he can raise the money to buy it from his wife’s family. To achieve this he persuades his estranged father to sell the neglected Tuscan villa they inherited from Jack’s late mother. They discover the villa needs a lot of work to be ready for sale. Can they repair their relationship along with the house and forge some new memories in Italy? This looks like something of a passion project for actor James D’Arcy, who wrote, produced and directed it. It would have benefited from some further input, as only the gorgeous scenery bolsters the slight and predictable story. Despite the wonderful location the film had to work with the cinematography is awful. There are lots of unnecessarily shaky, dizzying hand-held shots and weirdly angled close ups that are possibly intended to intensify emotion. Acting would have been better. It was a real coup to get Liam Neeson to take a break from his action flicks to take on this very small film. He kind of reprises his Love Actually role, but it’s fine. He gets solid support from Lindsay Duncan, playing to type as an acerbic estate agent, and Valeria Bilello, who is delightful as local chef Natalia. The weakest link is Micheal Richardson, who can’t quite carry off the grieving son, which is ironic given it’s a case of art imitating life.