enda_od Maybe I'm too cynical. I accept that. Maybe I grew up watching too may sickeningly heart-warming glory-hunting nice shy guys and gals struggle against adversity but always come out tops in the end, you know the type, Saturday afternoon Disney movies, designed to make geeky kids feel good about the world. You just got to be true to yourself, kid and then you will triumph. Well don't be fooled by the presence of Mr. Harvey Keitel, this is one of those movies that manage to turn my stomach into mulch. In fact the only thing good I can say about Harvey Keitel in this is that he looks like he feels the same as me, doing just enough to collect the pay check once the whole ordeal is over. Avoid!!

Mike Angel The movie is indeed well acted, and there is such a strong emotional theme going on and chemistry between the "old" (Keitel) and the "young" (Jackson) writers. The storyline goes well, the tempo is just fine and it would have been an excellent movie if not for the ridiculous details that had to be inserted just to add some misunderstood credibility for image of Italy in some other parts of the world. Like all the town folks were driving fiat Toplino and Jackson arrived on a BMW Z4 model 2004. Or that there were no young people or kids in the village and there was only one scene where Forlani is talking to anybody else than people tree times her age. Come on, this is Italy! If anybody is that hot as Forlani, Jackson will have very hard time trying to get her attention. But this was tolerable, until the last scene where we see Jackson depart on a steam train! I guess such kind of trains do exist somewhere in the world, but in Italy, home of the "Pendolino" trains that travel 200+ km/h such transportations is long forgotten. I would have given 8 if not for those silly scenes...

vrtu050 I am astonished that this woeful movie garnered an average score of 6.7 out of 10 on IMDb...! For a movie about writers and writing, the script is particularly predictable and turgid. I am not sure what was worse - the relentless inevitability of the completely obvious happy ending, or the clichéd romantic subplot.Keitel was clearly enjoying his holiday in Tuscany a little too much, with a performance that was at best, 'very relaxed'. Joshua Jackson, however, sounded like he was reading the script for the first time. And as for Claire Forlani ... "look, mum, I'm not just pretty, I'm ACTING!" If you're ever forced to watch this movie, turn the sound down. That way you can enjoy the movie's only asset - its Tuscan setting - without needing to hear Keitel's character, allegedly a grand master of literature, reciting prose so clumsy it would have earned a creative writing sophomore a 'D' on their term paper.

gradyharp Tuscany is like a magnet for sentimental Americans: the landscape, the people, the appreciation of life emanates from the sunscapes and offers a paradise to world-weary viewers. And so it is that Tuscany is the true star of this little romantic film. Yet writer/director Brad Mirman clearly knows how to script and move a story that, while predictable, still carries us along with wonderful characters from a fine cast.Jeremy (Joshua Jackson) works for a publishing house in New York and is sent to Tuscany to coerce famous novelist Weldon Parish (Harvey Keitel) into ending his 20-year moratorium and write a new, 'bound to be best seller' novel. Parish has not written since he lost his beloved wife, becoming instead a rascal who spends his days basking in the lazy sun with his best friends the priest Father Moretti (Giancarlo Giannini), hotelier Gustavo (Armando Pucci) and his squeeze Amalia (Valeria Cavalli). He lives with his daughter Isabella (Claire Forlani) and is visited often by his other daughters Dinnie (Silvia De Santis) and Maura (Bianca Guaccero), each of whom hopes that their father will return to writing. Upon Jeremy's arrival he finds that everyone in the village is protective of Parish and when he finally meets the silent author, he discovers a man who loathes editors, publishers, press, and anyone else who wants him to start writing again. Gradually Jeremy and Parish begin to break down barriers: Jeremy admits that he longs to be a writer but fears failure and Parish admits that his silence at the typewriter is due to a similar fear. Jeremy falls in love with Isabella, becomes a part of Parish's drinking trio, undergoes some lessons in life .... and the ending is obvious from the start! Harvey Keitel gives a moving performance as the gritty but passionate writer, Joshua Jackson makes Jeremy a believably transitioned man, and the supporting cast is consistently excellent. It really doesn't matter that we know from the beginning just how things will turn out: it is the getting there that is the pleasure of this light but touching film. The only significant problems are in the editing: there appear to be stops and starts as though this were made for television with places for commercials. But other than that this is a film that only asks that we relax, nod recognition, and enjoy the theme of the importance of honesty and the quality of life available if we follow our dreams. Grady Harp