Movie Review: A Good Year

Casting Russell Crowe as an insufferable prick is like casting Alec Baldwin as a soulless asshole – it's frighteningly accurate. And although Crowe doesn’t get to punch anyone in A Good Year, he does get to over-embellish the pomposity of his character, adding to the effect of a later life-changing event that would make him a happy-go-lucky lover boy. It is both all too familiar and all too boring.

By now audiences should be growing tired of these films that deliver the message that if you are a terrible human being, then all you need is a château in France and a beautiful mate and that will cure your personality defects. Not only does this sort of film not ring true to any part of human life, but it always plays out the same way.

We begin with a character – in this case Russell Crowe as Max Skinner, a day trader who loves only money and is hated the world over by his peers. We then add a back story about his childhood that should have made him a good person – case in point, visions of the delightful Albert Finney as Skinner’s wine loving, romanticizing uncle who teaches him to never take things for granted. Then comes the denial of these learnings, whereas Max has not spoken to his uncle in ten years; and the event that would bring it all full circle, the uncle's death.

Of course, as it always goes, Max is his uncle's only living relative and must travel from London to France to handle the estate. His initial idea of handling the estate is to sell the château and make more of that green stuff that has corrupted his entire existence, but that is before he meets – you guessed it – a beautiful woman who re-teaches him all of the lessons of life. He instantly falls in love and spends the rest of his time figuring out what he wants more, his current life or a relaxed existence with a beautiful woman. You can pretty much figure out the rest from there – it is not that hard.

And while the movie itself is wrought with one painfully obvious cliché after another, there are some elements that can be enjoyed. One in particular is Ridley Scott’s ability to put everything on a grand scale. He does a wonderful job of showing off the French wine country. The mix of beautiful scenery and creative camera shots add both to the beauty of the environment and the unrealistic plot. In the end it comes out to be a film that just looks nice rather than is nice.

Article Author: Neil Miller

Neil Miller is a 23-year-old film critic who lives and works in Columbus, Ohio. He is a member of the Central Ohio Film Critics Association. His musings about the world of film (and other various topics) are on display at his blog, The Columbus Movie Guy. …

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