Diane Lane stars as Frances Mayes, a writer who suddenly finds herself divorced and feeling lost. When her best friend (played by Sandra Oh) suggests she take a vacation to Italy, reluctantly Frances heads off on a life-changing adventure. Impulsively purchasing a villa in Tuscany, Frances builds a new life and finds hope where she least expected.
INTERVIEW WITH DIANE LANE:
How would you describe the different men in this movie?
I really liked the fact that you get to see different versions of men through the perspective of the woman. We have Romeo, the young man. We have a loyal husband who could have taken advantage of my character's emotional insecurity but didn't. We have the guys who are available in that fabulously forward Italian way. And then, Raoul [Bova’s] character, which I think is very interesting because that stereotype is dealt with as a stereotype within the film. That's exactly what American women think of Italian men, and that's what Italian men think of American women.
What are your opinions of these men?
I feel like there's a point of view that they have of themselves in a context that's not just two-dimensional. They're defending their case. They're wanting to prove themselves in a context that is not only the point of view of the woman. I love Pawel in the film because he says, "I can do it as good as…" Here we are dealing with a kind of racism, for lack of a better word, or class-ism that goes on - the Polish within the Italian country. It's something that we wouldn't have necessarily known about culturally but to spend time there and see that it does go on in every culture. So here this young boy is saying, “I can do it and win the father of my beloved's trust by proving I'm as macho as these Italian men who I have to contend with for my future girlfriend.”
How does your character relate to these men?
Sandra Oh’s on the phone with my character saying, "Have you met him yet? Have you met him yet?" There's a lot of pressure upon men, and replacement of them, and measuring of their absence or appearance or what they mean, or what they provide, or what they don't. All these things are being looked at and I think that's interesting.
How do you prepare for vulnerable scenes?
I don't know about the vulnerability thing. I think I learned a lot from Adrian Lyne on “Unfaithful” because that was his big mantra to me as an actress. He wanted me to be as vulnerable as I could be because, frankly, even my daughter could tell what the movie was about from the poster on the bus. I was the bad guy. I'm the villainess. I'm the unfaithful one. So, to not be hated by the audience and especially the men and [not have] the women going, "How can you possibly cheat on Richard Gere?" - it was a big hurdle. Adrian Lyne was adamant that I really stay as completely vulnerable as possible. I guess I did it before then too, but [there’s] something about being told to do it.
Your character has a few encounters with nature in this movie. Do you have any real life bug stories?
I was living in Florida, going into the third grade, and we had a 20-pound bag of cat food under the sink. I went in with the scooper and I think five water bugs came flying out at me. These things are so huge. I'm from Manhattan and I have no problem with roaches. It's just a part of life whether you're in the Bronx or whether you’re in Yonkers. So, this water bug gets in my hair and I'm literally freaking out and tearing off all my clothes and I'm screaming. I was whatever third grade is, eight or nine, and it was okay to be naked and screaming in the yard.
How are Italian film crews different?
Well, they take the same pride in the food preparation, but that's the only food there will be in the day. Whereas in the states, there's noshing food to keep your blood sugar up.
