A Good Year

About as far from Gladiator, the last joint venture between director Ridley Scott and star Russell Crowe, as you could possibly get, A Good Year—based on the novel by Peter Mayle—tells the story of a hard-driving London bond trader who journeys to the wine country of Provence, France (to dispose of a vineyard left to him by his late uncle), where he finds romance and a yen for a simpler, more fulfilling life. Kind of like Under the Tuscan Sun only with a male protagonist, this is a guy version of a “chick flick” (i.e., pretty sappy stuff), albeit with gorgeous locations and sumptuous cinematography. Unfortunately, the movie also showcases what's probably Crowe's worst performance to date—a cacophony of tics, feints, smirks, and hesitations, all apparently designed to be charming but relentlessly annoying nonetheless. Lovely to look at, A Good Year is—to use terminology oenologists might favor—the cinematic equivalent of wine-in-a-box. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)