Made in Italy (2020) Review

Posted on the 30 March 2021 by Caz @LetsGoToTheMov7

Jack must travel to Italy with Robert his estranged father to sell the house left to them by his deceased mother a place neither of them have been back to for over two decades.

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Jack is going through a divorce with his wife Ruth and as one last way to hurt him she is going to sell the gallery her family own, something that he has worked hard on to run and make successful. His last ditch attempt to save the career he loves means selling the Italian house and getting his half. Quickly getting the trip arranged for his father Jack to go with him so they can see the condition and set up a very quick sale.

That was not going to go straight to plan when they arrive and the once beautiful home is now falling apart due to years of regret. Jack does not really remember much about the time that he spent in Italy and living in that house. His mother was Italian and it belonged to her and her family. Robert is very distance from his son and after his wives death we find out that he felt he could not have a relationship with Jack due to fear of hurting him even more. It takes a little while to find out what exactly happened to her but that highlighted a lot of built up grief from the pair.

When going to a restaurant Jack meets Natalia and you can instantly sense something between the pair, so much in common as they are both going through divorces and that makes the bond even stronger. Jack had not told Robert about the divorce and they pretty much take a while to explode the feelings out! Especially when Jack finds out his childhood was pretty much locked away in one of the rooms.

Set and also filmed in Tuscany really highlights just how beautiful that part of Italy really is, it really does make perfect sense why quite a few films are set there. It certainly makes me want to visit Italy even more, so beautiful and picturesque. Along with a story that is interesting enough, some emotional moments as well as a little bit of the comedy I enjoyed it and thought it was quite frankly lovely enough to watch.

I thought it was just a truly lovely film in all honesty and I actually had no idea that it was a real life father and son duo (I didn't read anything about the film before watching it). Liam Neeson was just great in this type of role, managing to balance some humour within a few emotional scenes. Micheál Richardson was engaging enough as well and came across well as the struggling young man. Some fantastic moments between the pair and it was probably easier for them to create the scenes. I thought Lindsay Duncan added some fantastic funny moments, having loved her in About Time I feel she has perfect timing for this style of comedy. Valeria Biello was also very good in the supporting role.