A Good Year 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.