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A Good Year

My latest DVD purchase was A Good Year, starring Russell Crowe, Marion Cotillard, and Albert Finney. While Crowe and Finney are the only major heavyweights among the actors of this cast, I felt the movie was well-cast, well-acted, and a generally successful romance. This movie is only “generally” rather than “completely” successful for a couple of reasons.

First, it wasn’t quite sure what it was about. Was it about Max Skinner’s (Crowe) struggle to reunite with his childish roots after becoming a heartless money-grubber? Was it about Max reuniting with a lost childhood love (Cotillard)? Was it about Max reuniting with and learning about a family he’d abandoned? The three main topics were addressed in such a choppy manner that just as I was getting comfortable in one plot line, I was yanked into another.

With so many plotlines, the love story was under-developed. Despite being Crowe’s main love interest, it seems like Cotillard is on screen for only 20 of the film’s 118 minutes. One moment Crowe is simply infatuated with her (and why not, she’s beautiful, wild and mysterious in that typically French sort of way), and the next, he’s contemplating long-term commitment.

And Crowe’s change of heart is somewhat sudden. Max left his simple life with his uncle (Albery Finney) to become a cut-throat stockbroker in London, returning only after his uncle’s death. Why? This is never explained. And even as a child, we see glimpses of Crowe’s later callousness and cunning, yet, when he regains touch with his memories and his childhood self, he’s somehow a more innocent and endearing child than he actually was.

If you’re a die-hard romance fan like myself, I might suggest owning this movie. But, if you’re a lightweight in the romance department, I’d recommend Under the Tuscan Sun instead.

Written by: Katherine E. Webb

Reviewers Rating: 7
Reader's Rating: 10.00
Reader's Votes: 3

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