A Good Year does teach you a thing or two about life, and make you reflect on life. While munching popcorn and watching the film, I did some soul searching and came home with some yummy chocolate mouse to celebrate my 'good' year.
If you enjoyed watching actioned-packed films like Dhoom 2 and Casino Royal, watching A Good Year might require courage. It's slow and at times, you wonder if it is going anywhere. For a director who made Gladiator and Hannibal, A Good Year is his weakest film. Yes, I say that after sitting through Kingdom of Heaven and G I Jane.
Scott's film is not bad per say -- it is not poorly made and has a narrative even though it is predictable. But you are most likely to forget it as soon as you walk out of the theatre.
Based on the novel by Peter Mayle, A Good Year is about Max Skinner (Russell Crowe). When we first meet Max, he's a successful, selfish, money-grubbing stockbroker who believes that 'winning is not everything, it's the only thing.'
But when Max gets word that his uncle Henry has died and left a French estate to him; he reluctantly leaves London and goes to France.
Hoping to put his past behind him, Max wants to sell the vineyard as quickly as possible. Instead, he discovers his lost childhood, a French lover (Marion Cotillared), love for wine, art and zest to live a 'good' life.
I am yet to meet a person who started appreciating Van Gogh, developed taste for wine and found love in France, all overnight. Too Utopian and simplistic, even for the most hopeless romantic.
The film is about the magic of letting a place get to you, romancing France, changing your rhythm and thoughts, leading to a new life. But it does not develop Max's character for us to believe his growth. The reasons for Max to move to France and give up his life in London is unexplained.
Albert Finney plays Uncle Henry wonderfully. It's also a pleasure to see Oscar winner Russel Crowe act. But he doesn't look 'English'. That perhaps, because the film doesn't explore British humour, and insted tends to resort to slapstick. A Good Year is a shameful waste of the actor's talent.
But in all fairness, there were moments that weren't dull, like vineyard shots, a Lamborghini tractor, and some breathtaking scenes of the French countryside.
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