I watched this story about a money making narcissist who inherits a beloved vineyard in France mainly because of the star power it had in it (Russell Crowe, Albert Finney and Marion Cotillard, to name a few). It's gorgeously filmed, from the grey filtered coldness of the London scenes, to the warmer golden tones used in the French countryside scenes. Visually, this film rocked. Storywise, it had more promise than what wound up being the end result. What's good: Crowe plays an obnoxious, materialistic English trader named Max who conveys all the warmth of an iceberg through a good part of the film until he pulls his head out of his backside and starts to appreciate the happier memories of his youth with his uncle (an outstanding Albert Finney) and thus re-awakens his dormant humanity. It's cool to see an unlikable character like this mature into a better person as the film progresses. Though I'm no Russell Crowe fan, the man can act and carry a film, even if he's not the nicest person off screen. Very good support from Didier Bourdon (as the guy who truly loves and works the vineyard and sees it for what it could be), Tom Hollander (as Crowe's legal friend who plays the freewheeling cad with wonderful relish), and Abbie Cornish (in an early role, playing Crowe's long lost American cousin who's trying to find her roots). What's not so good? The story kept milking the unbelievable developing relationship between Crowe's jerky Max and Marion Cotillard's aloof Fanny, a woman who clearly thinks Max is a tool but lets herself get worn down by his questionable charm to eventually cave to him. They had no chemistry with each other and it all felt forced and dragged the main story down every time they wasted time on this particular chapter. So, watch it for beautiful French scenery, for great supporting characters (who really drive the story along) or if you love movies about wine. It's not bad; it's just not really amazing either. It's just fair.
Review of A Good Year
