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A GOOD YEAR Send This Review to a Friend
Any film set in the French region of Provence is off to a good start. “A Good Year,” Sir Ridley Scott’s adaptation of Peter Mayle’s novel and featured at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, is set there, and that accounts for a good deal of its enticement. Another plus is Russell Crowe.
One doesn’t think of Crowe as a charmer, given his hard-edged action screen appearances and troubles he has had with his pubic persona. However, lo and behold, Crowe turns on the charm here, and it works.
Although his character Max earns his living by being a cutthroat financier and manipulator, when he goes to Provence in connection with the estate of his late uncle Henry (colorfully played in flashbacks by Albert Finney), Max’s tender side is evoked. Part of the evoking is done by the local attractive French bistro owner Fanny (Marion Cotillard), to whom he is attracted.
There are other kinds of relationships in “A Good Year,” one of which is the extent of fidelity to the memory of his uncle, who was so important to him while growing up. Another is Max’s relationship to ethics, and yet another to the vineyard that was not only important to his uncle but symbolizes respect for the traditions in Provence, which he comes to love.
As you would expect, there is much talk about wine. The film is light—no great shakes dramatically—but Crowe gives an especially appealing performance and the film is delightfully rich in the atmosphere of Provence. It makes you want to get on a plane and head there. A Fox 2000 Pictures release.
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