Changing Rooms goes to Italy in this winsome flick about a divorcée who rebuilds her life by renovating a Tuscan villa. Instead of Carol Smilie, however, we have Unfaithful's Diane Lane, suffering exquisitely as the ex-pat American who flees to Europe when she discovers her hubby has been playing away from home. The only straight on a gay coach tour, she sees a rundown house and buys it on a whim, setting in motion a schmaltzy story of self-discovery that's sure to strike a chord with anyone who thinks Shirley Valentine is the greatest film ever made.
Everyone else, though, will be bored to distraction by this sentimental take on Frances Mayes' bestselling memoir, with Lane's romancing of a randy Italian proving the sickly icing on the cloying cake. Plus points? That would be point, singular - Lindsay Duncan's theatrical turn as a fiftysomething Brit with a Fellini fetish. At least it breaks the tedium of DIY and interior design.
