A Good Year – 2006

A Good Year is certainly not your conventional Ridley Scott film, but it is one that was well shot but not very well written. Investment broker Max Skinner (Crowe) knows only one thing, how to make money. But when he inherits his Uncle’s chateau in Provence where he spent much of his childhood he must decide between the life he has in London or the life in France.

After arriving in Provence the only thing on his mind is to sell, but with childhood memories floating all around him as well as women it’s not long before the predictable is happening.

It provides enough and features some telling performances but it’s simply not funny enough to register as the comedy it so desperately strives to be. The film most notably reunited Scott with Crowe and their first foray into a romantic comedy, with not a great deal of success.

A Good Year has scenery could not be more fitting for a romantic comedy, and the picturesque winery is paramount to the beautiful shots it creates. However at times it looks more like a car advert than a film. On the comedy aspect there are a few small laughs but they fall flat as Crowe is not able to deliver on them, you wonder if Hugh Grant might have done a better job.

Crowe’s upper class English accent is out of place against the free flowing French that is predominant throughout and he’d probably feel more at home with large sword in his hand as opposed to a wine bottle. The introduction of Uncle Henry’s supposedly long lost daughter Chrisie throws a complicated spanner in the works which does more harm than good.

It’s a heartwarming tale and it will tug on the heart strings of all the old romantics out there, but Scott and Crowe have never made a romantic comedy before and it certainly shows. It’s not got the characteristics of a fine wine, but may get past some peoples tastes.

View the trailer

Rating: (3/5)

Visit the IMDb page for A Good Year

DVD Extras: Audio commentaries by Ridley Scott and screenwriter Marc Klein. Featurettes that contain your usual behind the scenes footage and interviews. There’s a very short Russell Crowe & Ridley Scott promo where they talk about the movie. And not forgetting the theatrical trailer, T.V. spots, and some music videos.

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