A Good Year DVD > Reviews > A Mediocre Year (At Best)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Disliked it
Story	Very ordinary
Characters / Performances	Unmemorable
Special Effects	Unmemorable
How does it compare to similar films?	Unmemorable

Advantages:	Marion Cotillard is always good value .
Disadvantages:	Russell Crowe andRidley Scott can't do comedy .

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

Max Skinner is a reptilian stockbroker, loved by his boss and lawyer and reviled by everyone else. But his high-pressure life takes a turn for the unexpected as he inherits a house and vineyard in France from his estranged Uncle Henry; the closest thing he had to a father. He crosses the channel, intending to sort out the estate and flog the house. But once he gets there, he finds himself remembering how happy his childhood holidays in Provence were and wonders what happened to the person he used to be. Is all the money he earns in the City worth more than a chance at happiness?

In years to come "A Good Year" will no doubt be known as Ridley Scott's folly. For a director whose output is usually characterised by its dependence on action set-pieces and high drama, this light comedy seemed an odd choice of project. And sadly my misgivings about his suitability have been realised. It's a bit of disposable fluff that has been dressed up by an impressive cast list and critically acclaimed director. That doesn't stop it being hackneyed, predictable and not very funny. It feels like an anachronism; Scott's depiction of life on the stock exchange feels like a throwback to 1980s' yuppie-dom, complete with greased back hair and braces. He focuses on the landmarks of London and goes for a picture postcard depiction of the sleepy South of France, where the pace of life is slower and everyone spends their time eating and drinking against a background of cicada chirps. Either that or they are cycling round the highways and byways as if on some permanent Tour de France. There's no dramatic impetus because as soon as Max turns up at his Uncle Henry's the aural and visual flashbacks begin. So right from the start you know he's going to give in to his nostalgia and do the right thing. Anglo-French antagonism rears its head early on and it's so overused that it never feels realistic.

The worst thing about the film though is its lack of comic timing. Ridley Scott just doesn't DO comedy - he clearly finds it too difficult. So every poorly placed sound effect gag, pratfall, mad old Frenchman and speeded-up car journey feels laboured. He either pre-empts it, lingers too long or misses the punch-line, as if he's waiting for validation. It's a scattershot approach that doesn't work well and if further compounded by miscasting. Russell Crowe is the wrong man for the job and the film just doesn't hang together. The pacing is sloppy and it feels like director and star got together and bashed out a bunch of scenarios between bouts of wine-drinking and sunbathing. The overall impression is of a lazy movie that at a hundred and eighteen minutes is about half an hour too long. And it never fits convincingly into any genre; being neither comedy, drama nor romance.

Once you know Marc Klein's screenplay is based on a Peter Mayle novel, you're under no illusions that the film will paint Provence as a pastoral idyll that one couldn't fail to fall in love with. You know there is bound to be a happy ending for all concerned. The central conceit of a Scrooge-like character rediscovering his lost humanity has been done a thousand times before, better and with greater originality. The script has defanged Max Skinner, so you never really believe he's a grasping Gordon Gekko-type, whose only concern is making money. There are too many "funny" remarks for that, the point of which is lost as they are too considered to feel off-the-cuff. He treats his employees too well and falls in love too easily to be truly heartless. He's also too willing to be seduced by the good life in France. As a result, the story is exceptionally predictable and certain aspects (especially the romance between Max and Fanny) feel hackneyed. There's no good reason why the two should end up together other than the plot demanding it. The subplots (including one about Henry's secret daughter) are clumsy and lead to excessive end-tying come the finale. The characterisation is two-dimensional and the one-liners sit ill at ease in the mouth of a man that's supposed to be so harsh and demanding. And not all the earthy Anglo-Saxon expletives in the world can make it sound natural coming from a clearly Antipodean leading man. The comic moments do nothing to advance the story and lead to juddering shifts in pace. The worst of these probably come at the syrupy ending.

Oscar-winner Russell Crowe may be able to convince as a Roman general or a Depression-era boxer, but he doesn't have it in him to play an English stockbroker. For a kick-off his accent throughout is duff. He doesn't look British and he doesn't act it; he has way too much swagger, even for a high-paid City player. He may be able to do smug and act like a prick, but considering the character "doesn't do holidays", he relaxes far too easily into the slower pace of rural French life. Considering he's a ladies' man, he falls in love far too easily. Crowe lacks the requisite comic timing to make the slapstick and one-liners work. He doesn't commit to the role and you can tell he took the part for the money, the promise of an easy time and a holiday in Provence. And let's not forget he looks way too old for the role. According to the flashbacks he should be in his early thirties, but flabby Crowe looks closer to fifty. I mean, he wears a vest under his shirt, for God's sake!

Marion Cotillard is one of my favourite French actresses because she can be both soft and sharp. She has good comic timing and is among a small group of her countrywomen that act as convincingly in English as her native tongue. As Max's love interest Fanny Chenal she is pretty, sexy, feisty and criminally underused. The same can be said of Archie Panjabi as Max's sarcastic assistant Gemma and Aussie Abbie Cornish as Christie, Max's possible cousin and definite rival for ownership of the estate. And she outdoes Crowe in the accent stakes with a convincing and consistent American accent. The film might have been better if Tom Hollander had taken the role of Max, instead of playing his bumbling best mate Charlie. He's very upper class and can do charming and demanding without any real fuss. Freddie Highmore is hateful as the young version of Max and shows what Crowe should be trying to play. Albert Finney is wasted as Uncle Henry, sleepwalking through the elder statesman role as he dispenses life lessons and casually womanises.

The score by Marc Streitenfeld is an odd selection of traditional orchestral arrangements, electronica and obvious French accordion and piano motifs. It's almost schizophrenic, trying to emotionally blackmail the audience with soft strings and woodwinds one minute and trying to chivvy the pace along with electronic tootling echoes and metallic percussion the next. It doesn't hang together as a body of work and the persistent accordion flourishes are stereotypical in trying to sum up the French. The soundtrack incorporates a wide range of musical styles, from old mono jazz to late 70s' rock and French chanson. However, using music from such a wide historical period in the flashbacks to Max's childhood makes it difficult to pinpoint when events are taking place. Also the suggestion that Lolita's self-titled slice of European disco cheddar could accompany Max all the way from the airport (presumably in Nice) to the back of beyond is a trifle odd.

"A Good Year" may well prove anything but for both director Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe. Still, at least it will warn anyone else off from asking either to be involved in a comedy in future. It's a sloppily directed and lazily written film that fails because of miscasting and a lack of imagination. It requires a firmer hand in the editing room and a star with a shred of comic timing. As cinema outings go, it's about as appetising as the terrible wine Max's vineyard produces.