Under the Tuscan Sun plays like a fantasy for divorced middle-aged women. A woman endures a rough divorce only to run away to Tuscany, Italy, buy a dream house and find her dream man. Of course, there are struggles along the way – thunderstorms both small and large. But Sun fails to offer us much beyond a sort of escapism for depressed women.

Not that it doesn’t try. Under the Tuscan Sun reads like one of those dime a dozen self-help/inspirational book that only depressed middle-aged women read. We are constantly bombarded with trite truisms and pseudo wisdom whose sound is more pleasant than its content profound.

I haven’t read the book. Frequently film adaptations of quality, life-affirming books fall into the trap of touching lightly upon complex ideas and simply coming across as superficial. I sense that such might have been the case here, hard to tell. Strange to say, but as much as I dislike this movie, I’m actually fairly interested in reading the book someday.

In order to keep the fantasy realistic, Under the Tuscan Sun tries hard to keep things at the level of the everyday woman. Frances (Diane Lane) deals with problems like snakes and thunderstorms to complications with friends and men. She seems like she’s constantly on the verge of a sort of breakdown. Through frequent attention to her trials, the film tries to play up the emotional content of her successes and achievements in a way that’s moderately touching but ultimately unengaging.

I do appreciate the art direction though. Appropriately titled, Sun’s cinematography is continually warm. Without the aid of camera filters, Sun manages a picture that is bright with yellows, oranges and off-whites. The meticulously done set decorations and costumes keep up this tone to its fullest from beginning to end. Furthermore, Diane Lane, with her orange skin and red hair, is the perfect cast and blends in wonderfully with the world around her.

Though the script utterly fails, Tuscan Sun stays alive through its constantly beautiful pictures of the Italian cities and landscapes whose hills and vistas are worthy of anyone’s fantasy.

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