Review: You, Me and Tuscany - Breathtaking Escapism For The Soul ❇️❇️❇️❇️🟩

You, Me and Tuscany is a much needed lightweight, frivolous movie whose breathtaking backdrop, eye-candy stars, and improbable plot transport you momentarily to a different world; one filled with old-fashioned family values, engaging music, spirited laughter and soothing beauty. 

While this movie feels like a modern rom-com classic, entirely predictable in its storyline and happy-ever-after conclusion, it offers something fresh in its perspective, that is powered by the two Black lead actors, whose roles allow them to simply exist in a beautiful, escapist fantasy, without the weight of the world on their shoulders.

The plot is simple: Finding herself in straitened circumstances, Anna (Halle Bailey) yearns for the good life, and even tries to live it through other people by wearing their clothes. She meets a dishy Italian in a bar, Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor), who thrills her with tales of his amazing villa in Tuscany, and encourages her to visit the town. Seeing an opportunity to do something different, she promptly sets off for Italy, not knowing she would be meeting his near-perfect cousin Michael (Regé-Jean Page). Having told some lies to actually enjoy Matteo's fantastic home, you can guess that it won’t be plain sailing between her and Michael before love gets a chance.

Page plays Michael with a cool exterior, but when he’s around Anna, you can see the cracks in that self-protecting armour. He and Halle Bailey have that rare kind of chemistry where they don’t even need to speak to tell the story - you can see it in the way they just look at each other. Of course, Page is in all his charming, handsome glory, with a voice to die for.

The mixture of contemporary R&B music with those sweeping Italian landscapes shouldn’t work as well as it does, but it makes the whole film feel both modern and timeless at the same time. The small, authentic details make the characters, especially in the close family group, feel like people we actually know.

If you are expecting a masterpiece of cinematography, this won’t be it. This is a simple romance with warm, refreshing characters, its own unique charm, and a backdrop you cannot ignore; a movie that basically asks, ‘What if you made a huge mistake, and it led you exactly where you needed to be?’ Reminding us that our downsides don’t have to be permanent, if we keep hope alive with an open mind.

You, Me, And Tuscany is just the film for removing us, if only for a couple of hours, from the relentless negativity of our world just now. It guarantees some warm feel-good vibes, being the perfect escapism for the soul to breathe. 

Director: Kat Coiro 

Rating: ✴️✴️✴️✴️  Well worth seeing!