Father & Son dramas are an overdone sub-genre that won't go away. We can only see a young man angry at his dad over a tragedy related to his mother so often and in so many ways. Just about every single one of these films has the same story beats with very little in the form of variation. A man has a conflict to resolve and must resort to asking his estranged father, whom he hates, to fix it. Throughout the endeavor, the two men argue, uncover secrets, eventually come to terms regarding their past grievances, and admit their feelings to each other, resulting in a better relationship. This kind of story is alright when done well, but there's only so many times we can watch the same thing unfold over and over again. At the very least, Made in Italy is a competently made version of this same story, but it's still the same story. If you've seen one of them, you've seen them all.
This particular iteration of this repetitive story follows a young man named Jack (Micheál Richardson), who manages an art gallery in England. That is until he discovers his soon-to-be-ex-wife officially owns it and wants to sell. Jack, who has put his heart and soul into the gallery, can't stand the idea of losing it and offers to buy it from her. Except, he doesn't have the money. His only option is to convince his father, Robert (Liam Neeson), who also happens to be a painter, to renovate and sell their old house in Italy. The only challenge is twofold: one, Robert owns half the house and must be persuaded, and two, they haven't spoken to each other in nearly twenty years. Mostly due to a tragedy involving his mother. Now, Jack must put aside his resentment and get his dad to fix up the house to save his gallery.
Watching this movie is like watching a PowerPoint presentation on "How to Build a Cliche-Riddled Family Drama." Every scene plays out exactly how you predict it will, provided you've seen enough of these kinds of films before, which I have, and even those who haven't are more likely to have a better experience anywhere else. Here, it isn't fascinating.
On the positive side, it is well-acted, the cinematography of the Italian countryside is gorgeous, and the painting depicted, along with occasional sides of art theory and image structure, succeed in slightly elevating the "troubled artist" cliche one notch above the "I'M COMPLEX!" expectation.
Made in Italy is not a film I can easily recommend. It offers nothing new to the table, and what little it has in the way of nuance is quickly forgotten less than ten seconds later. Still, if you need a new vehicle to watch Liam Neeson be his usual "cool" self, and you've already rewatched Taken one too many times, this movie should pass the time until something better comes along. Come for the view, don't stay for the ambiance, or lack thereof.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm, thank you all for reading.
Worth noting that Michael Richardson is Neeson’s real life son (with his late wife, Natasha Richardson). Also interesting that this was directed by James D’Arcy.
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