A Good Year DVD Review

"A Good Year" reviews

DVD

A Good Year

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-05-04 15:00:57

Provider

DVD Review

The Gladiator combination of Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe is reunited but this time for a romcom.

The plot follows a ruthless English banker called Max Skinner (Crowe) who lives to earn money. But when Max inherits the small vineyard in Provence that he grew up on from his late, estranged Uncle Henry (Albert Finney) he has to take a few days off work to flog the picturesque estate as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately for Max, his plan to get in and out of France as quickly as possible doesn't quite go as planned and he ends up spending a few extra days with the vineyard's caretaker, his wife, their dog and a few other people who drop in unannounced. During his time in the idyllic French countryside, Max loses his mobile phone and finds a part of himself that he'd lost since childhood.

A-listers Crowe (in slightly disconcerting but passable Hugh Grant-ish mode) and Finney are perfectly supported by Freddie Highmore as the young Skinner in flashback scenes, Marion Cotillard as feisty love interest Fanny and French actor Didier Bourdon who steals many scenes as the grumpy, plotting caretaker Duflot.

Special features include a unique behind the scenes feature length hybrid of video featurettes and audio commentary by director/producer Ridley Scott and screenwriter Mark Klein. There's also a trailer featuring special filmed footage of Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott plus music videos by Crowe's own band The Ordinary Fear Of God - which you'd probably have to be an incredibly loyal fan to enjoy.