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A Good Year Movie Review

A Good Year is a 2006 romantic comedy film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard. It’s one of the director’s most atypical efforts.

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“Forgive my lips. They find joy in the most unusual places“

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Failed London banker Max Skinner inherits his uncle’s vineyard in Provence, where he spent many childhood holidays. Upon his arrival, he meets a woman from California who tells Max she is his long-lost cousin and that the property is hers. This movie was a box office bomb and a critical failure upon its release, but I find it to be better than expected. It’s passable entertainment, even though of course it’s difficult to adjust yourself to a rom-com from no other than Scott, who is one of the most masculine directors out there.

But I appreciate his willingness to do something different here, so I forgive the movie for most of its flaws because of Scott’s daring effort and a lot of charm that the picture possesses. The movie is one of those beautifully shot, gorgeous movies that are perfect for women and for all genre enthusiasts who appreciate stories that focus on stunning locales, fine wine and dine, and beautiful people having fun together.

A Good Year is at its best when it’s focusing on the budding romance between Cotillard and Crowe. She is just as lovely and terrific as always and Crowe is actually surprisingly superb in an unlikely role for him. He’s so effortlessly charming and romantic in this movie that it’s easy to forget its numerous flaws due to his performance alone. I loved seeing Albert Finney and Tom Hollander, but their roles were minor as were all the others.

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But even Crowe and gorgeous imagery couldn’t quite save this movie from its tiresome, lazy and uninspired plot. It’s your typical rom-com setup where the protagonist has to make a certain choice, but changes his mind when he falls in love. I hate that so many of these movies have that exact same basic premise. Whenever the film focused on the charming character dynamics, I’ve had a blast with it. But whenever it focused on its boring, poor storyline, I was losing my interest rapidly. The humor is also mostly non-existent, which was a huge issue for what was supposed to be partially a comedy.