There was serious talk of her starring
opposite Bruce Willis in the
"Memento"-like thriller, "Me Again," but
after a series of legal debacles, that
film will most likely not be hitting
theaters any time soon. However, to take
her situation as it sits (as "Tuscan" is
about to hit theaters September 25th), she
is far from being mediocre.What she has
here is a film (of which quality we cannot
yet determine) that could likely give her
that step-up she needs to hold her own in
a bigger picture of her own. The film is
small enough yet big enough for Diane Lane
to establish herself as an actress (as
being the one name lighting up the
marquee). Imagine if Lane was given a
large budget picture to carry herself
right after "Unfaithful" and it ends up
not fulfilling high expectations; she'd
then be seen as a failure, and her career
would inevitably suffer yet again.
Bad luck is one thing, but timing is
worse. "Under the Tuscan Sun" is not too
much of a gamble for Touchtone Pictures
(the studio releasing the film) -- it’s
modestly budgeted and could possibly boost
Lane's profile, but doubtfully do much
harm to it.
Actresses like Angelina Jolie continue
to work stable lives despite streaks of
financial and critical disappointments.
This past summer Jolie hit a particularly
bad spot, though, when the costly "Tomb
Raider" sequel sank below expectations
despite the film getting generally better
reviews than its predecessor.
Her career now may be in great jeopardy
if her next two projects (the October
drama/thriller "Beyond Borders,"
co-starring Clive Owen and her 2004
release, "Taking Lives," both tank).
Unlike Jolie, though, Lane isn't risking
quite as much as of now -- "Tuscan" could
both be a sleeper success, and build upon
Lane's notoriety with audiences, but also
there's a chance it doesn't so well and in
that case, won't affect her career much.
Perhaps what Lane’s career needed was
time, and now she has it, along with
several new opportunities with her recent
Oscar nomination. Jolie, who won an Oscar
for her work in 1999's "Girl,
Interrupted," found a lot of work
following her win, but now the credibility
she worked up is starting to run thin. In
Lane's case, however, there are still many
windows of opportunity open. No one can
shy away from the fact that Lane did
breathtaking work in "Unfaithful."
Therefore, it seems, as though there will
be plenty of options for her to choose
from for a while to come.
"Under the Tuscan Sun" opens at the end
of September, notoriously the slowest film
at the box office, which may come to be to
its advantage. September releases such as
"Matchstick Men" and "Underworld" caters
to very different audiences compared to
"Tuscan," and so counter marketing may
prove itself successful (it has before).
Female audiences will obviously be at
the core of this film's audience and would
be the ones to propel the suggested
success, as they have before with films
like "Bridget Jones' Diary" (which
coincidentally made Renee Zellweger one of
the newest and most talked-about hot
actresses) a must have. Granted, her
breakthrough was in "Jerry Maguire," but
women didn't really see that movie for
her.
The question of which way I think
"Under the Tuscan Sun" will sway in the
end is quite tough to put my finger on.
There are so many surprises at the
theaters -- some bad, others good. Diane
Lane has been in the spotlight for over a
year now, still glowing with "Unfaithful,"
and perhaps now making a strong shot at
stardom, Lane's time has come.
After a long career with its share of
highs and lows, Lane may hopefully get the
attention and respect she so rightfully
deserves from audiences. However, if
things don't end up quite so well for her
new film, there's no reason to worry --
she has the talent, and wherever there is
talent, there is hope.