A Good Year Review

"A Good Year" reviews

Movie

A Good Year

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2009-09-14 20:36:27

Rating

2/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

Is it good for those Gladiator dudes Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe to team up again for a romantic comedy about winemaking in the South of France? Perhaps not, but it's a nice try.

Story

A Good Year has the makings of a pleasant, serene romp through grapevines and lovely French vistas. But while being terribly atmospheric, the story itself tends to drag on. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Peter Mayle, the first 40 minutes or so are somewhat engaging as we're introduced to London-based investment expert Max Skinner (Crowe), who has gotten himself into a bit of a pickle and is being forced into an "extended" vacation in Provence. Max remembers many wonderful summers he spent there with his Uncle Henry (Albert Finney) as a child. But now the old man has passed away, and Max has inherited his uncle's small French vineyard. He'd like to sell it straight away but then he meets lovely local café owner Fanny (Marion Cotillard) and becomes smitten. There's also the problem with a young American woman, Christie (Abbie Cornish), who shows up and claims she's Henry's illegitimate daughter. Can Max settle into what seems to be an intoxicating new chapter of his life--and drag A Good Year down with him? Of course.

Acting

Mr. Anger Management is obviously going for a gentler image with this performance, and he's more than capable handling the job as romantic lead. But honestly, Crowe is much more effective as Max, the snarling pack leader of the financial wolves, than as Max, a sap softened by Provencal wine and women. Sorry, Russell, but playing tough (or tortured, depending) suits you better. Most of the other characters surrounding Max add nice color, all sun-kissed, country-minded and eccentric. Cotillard (A Very Long Engagement) is particularly glowing as the hardened Fanny, who has had her heart broken a few times and doesn't want a repeat performance. Cornish (Somersault) beams as well, as the girl from Napa Valley, Calif., who knows a few things about winemaking. Actually, some of the more engaging scenes are flashbacks between Finney, as the roguish Uncle Henry, and his young nephew--played with understatement by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Freddie Highmore. Too bad Highmore couldn't have played the older Max as well.

Direction

You can see what director Ridley Scott was trying for with A Good Year. A labor of love for the director--who is good friends with the novelist Peter Mayle, as well as owns a vacation home and vineyard in Provence--A Good Year is full of astounding beauty. Scott frames the exquisite lush vistas of this southern French community with a tender, loving hand. You'll certainly be tempted to pick up a Fodor's guide to the area while checking online for destination prices. But the film seriously lacks the necessary narrative to carry it through. Mayle's novel apparently reads very much like a travelogue, and screenwriter Marc Klein (Serendipity) seems to have difficulty fleshing out parts to make a more cohesive script. Most importantly, however, like Crowe, A Good Year just seems ill-suited for Scott's more serious, action-minded sensibilities. What worked for the two collaborators in the gladiator rings of Rome doesn't ring as true in the grape-soaked vineyards of Southern France.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 2 stars.

Movie

A Good Year

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-10-26 00:00:00

Provider

MyMovies

Review

The last time Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe worked together the result was the Oscar-winning Roman epic "Gladiator", so this gentle comedy certainly marks a change of pace for the pair. Crowe stars as Max Skinner, an unscrupulous city broker who is happy to get whatever he wants, regardless of the consequences to others. So when his only living relative - elderly uncle (Albert Finney) - dies and leaves Max a Chateau in the south of France the financier wastes no time in heading to Provence to get the property valued and on the market. However a missed flight back to London means Max has to spend some time at the scenic spread - and a whole host of childhood memories start flooding back.

There's no denying that "A Good Year" is a wonderful looking film, but it'd be hard to set a film in Provence during the height of summer and not bring the region's beauty to the fore. Sweeping vistas and warm, sun-soaked settings give the movie a gentle and homely feel as we skip between the present and the past, where a young Max (Freddie Highmore) enjoys time with his dear, departed uncle.

However this is ultimately a less than satisfying film and the main problem - surprisingly - is the leading man. Crowe's a great action hero and dramatic actor but comedy certainly isn't his forte, while a couple of sub-plots about a long-lost relative and a pretty local restaurateur feel rather stuck on and forced. "A Good Year" may present us with a decent bouquet but is in truth a little hard to swallow.

Movie

A Good Year

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-10-20 15:00:29

Provider

Review

Oscar winner Russell Crowe reunites with Gladiator and Blade Runner director Ridley Scott in this unlikely but delightful 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.

Crowe and Finney are A-list actors, but it's the supporting cast that really add depth and body to this film. Newcomer Freddie Highmore plays the young Skinner in flashback scenes, and holds his own against Albert Finney's lovingly blustery Uncle Henry. Abbie Cornish plays a long-lost American sister, beautiful Marion Cotillard is perfect as fiesty love interest Fanny and French actor Didier Bourdon steals many a scene as the grumpy, plotting caretaker Duflot.

It's rather disconcerting to see Russell Crowe in Hugh Grant mode (posh, English, slightly dithery), but while he may not be hugely convincing, it doesn't matter because Crowe's not the real star of the movie.

That accolade undoubtedly goes to the location - the dappled sunlight filtering through green trees, a velvety glass of red set on an dilapidated stone table, the gentle hum of cyclists along sandy lanes and the warm glow of the run-down farmhouse will inspire you to plot an escape from the rat race before you even leave the cinema - or at the very least buy a decent bottle of vino on your way home.