Adapting "Under the Tuscan Sun," writer-director Audrey Wells spices up Frances Mayes' best-selling memoir in a way that honors the soul of the piece while creating memorable big-screen dynamics. The 1996 book's elegant, poetic prose celebrates the romance of self-discovery through immersion in a foreign place -- specifically, the hilly sun-drenched region of Italy and the tumbledown, 300-year-old villa that Mayes and her partner, Ed, lovingly renovated. The eminently watchable Lane, fresh off her searing, Oscar-nominated performance in "Unfaithful," again demonstrates her appeal to men and women alike, though her full-blooded portrait of an intelligent, sensuous woman will have particular resonance for female audiences.

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