ST. LOUIS — Jack (Micheal Richardson) has a dilemma. He desperately needs to sell his dead mother's villa, located in the luscious countryside of Italy, so he can save his art gallery back home. But he needs to wrestle his estranged father, Robert (Liam Neeson), out of his freewheeling and aimless London lifestyle-and restore the dusty rundown home in a short matter of time.
You know what they say... restoring the past can be messy, whether it's an old home or a wounded relationship. With these two fellas, it's complicated but not without hope.
Writer-director James D'Arcy (a full time actor taking a break here) chose the father-son drama for his first directorial feature, and I have to admire the boldness in his casting. Neeson and Richardson lost their real life wife/mother, Natasha, many years ago, so this must have been like walking over semi-hot coals to perform. Thankfully, the two leads heighten the formulaic setup, and the scenery takes your breath away right when your attention starts to wander.
Neeson, known for his blunt force action hero persona for the past decade, downshifts comfortably into the wild yet not crazy bohemian mind of Robert. A man doing whatever he has to do in order to forget the past ... until he's confronted head-on by it, along with the son he fumbled a relationship with shortly after his wife's death. Neeson shares the screen admirably with his real life son, and Richardson brings a tender sweet edge to a young man harboring some mysteries of his own while aiming to right his future.
The two men give performances that offer D'Arcy's film a level of depth rather than if the studio had just chosen a couple of actors with no relation. The real life juice no doubt gives the cinematic aesthetic some extra firepower. While the estranged nature doesn't exist in real life, you can see the two men dealing with some demons as their characters try to present the best version of themselves. Since it's a decent departure from what Neeson has been doing (with the exception of this year's exceptional "Ordinary Love"), you buy into the world created here.
Like Ridley Scott's "The Good Life," the Italian countryside plays a lovely supporting part, giving the viewer that sense of escape into a world that may look a lot different than the one outside their living room. You'll get lost not only in the ravishing hills and homes that dominate the shots in this film, but the camaraderie experienced between Robert, Jack, and the people who populate the small town they have returned to will enrich your heart. Lindsay Duncan is wonderful as the unfortunate real estate agent who has to find someone to buy a home with an overpowering red wall (Robert's work) greeting you as you walk in the front door, which has fallen down.
D'Arcy, a seasoned actor known for "Dunkirk" and "Master and Commander," doesn't do anything fancy here in his first spin behind the camera, allowing the film to soak in the visuals and focus its energy on Robert and Jack investigating their past, so they can formulate a future that involves more talking than thankless conversations about "the game last night" or the weather. The level of which you will enjoy or love this film will depend on the two leads, and whether you believe in their reconciliation or not.
I got a kick out of watching Neeson and Richardson blend real life and art, giving us a peek of their trauma and the grace at which they are handling the waves. It took guts to play these parts, ones that stick so close to the chest, so there's something to admire there.
There's also just the easy-going allure of a father-son journey that doesn't shy away from humor. A bit about a "raccoon-sized baguette" will get you laughing, and the trials and tribulations of rebuilding the home (deciphering the Italian carpenter's shorthand language) provide some much-needed comedy.
It all comes together nicely, goes down easily, and will touch your heart in the end. "Made in Italy" may be about second chances of different kinds, but its simplicity is comforting in such a turbulent year.
Available On Demand digitally and at select theaters and drive-in theaters starting Friday, August 7
