A Good Year
Fox 2000 Pictures | Release Date: November 10, 2006
6.6
USER SCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 105 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
61
Mixed:
33
Negative:
11
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User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
7
ChadS.Dec 2, 2006
What happened to Max? As a child(Freddy Highmore, his crying in "Finding Neverland" still paying dividends), "A Good Year" doesn't do enough to lay down the groundwork for the greedy individual we see in the form of Russell Crowe. What happened to Max? As a child(Freddy Highmore, his crying in "Finding Neverland" still paying dividends), "A Good Year" doesn't do enough to lay down the groundwork for the greedy individual we see in the form of Russell Crowe. Cheating in chess and throwing a temper tantrum after a lost tennis match doesn't quite do it. He's anything but a bad seed. "A Good Year" is missing that crucial scene in which we see the makings of a barracuda. Because "Under the Sideways Sun", laidback as it is, has the annoying mainstream agenda that the protagonist must be likable, Max Skinner is much too nice(more smarm instead of charm, please) for someone who cuts throats and takes no prisoners for a living His character arc is nearly non-existent since he's charming and debonair before his French awakening. Like real life, Crowe should berate, or punch someone out during the film's section when Max believes that "winning is not everything, it's the only thing." But still, "A Good Year" works. The vineyards are predictably picturesque; the woman of his dreams...stunning, and the supporting characters provide the requisite local color. It's like shooting fish in the barrel, and the director doesn't miss. At the end of "A Good Year", you want Max's life.… Expand
2 of 2 users found this helpful
8
MaghanC.Jul 2, 2007
F-y'all. My boy Russell is hot, and so is this movie. The soundtrack was incredible!
2 of 2 users found this helpful
10
DanielG.Nov 21, 2006
The people who love and value the simple things of life will appreciate this film.
2 of 2 users found this helpful
4
MikeP.Nov 22, 2006
Fantastic old Europe scenery, the characters beautiful, and the screenplay pathetic.
1 of 1 users found this helpful
4
AlbertNov 30, 2006
A beautiful place + a beautiful girl aren't enough to make a decent movie. Absolutely forgettable.
1 of 1 users found this helpful
1
ColeO.Mar 28, 2007
Bloody awful. Crowe utterly unconvincing. No chemistry among the cast, numerous plot gaffes, overdone direction, way overdone soundtrack.
1 of 1 users found this helpful
10
BethG.Jun 7, 2007
Absolutely brilliant. Russell Crowe is incredible. The whole story is interesting, funny, romantic, and entertaining. I loved it.
1 of 1 users found this helpful
10
RastyRMay 24, 2009
Excellent movie with great characters. Maybe plot is some way predicable but anyway movie presents great entertainment.
1 of 1 users found this helpful
5
kublay0880Dec 11, 2012
Average romantic movie, the story is good but it's not enough, I could never find a good connection between the characters, no doubt that Crowe can perform on his movies and no doubt on Marion either, but on many parts of this movie you canAverage romantic movie, the story is good but it's not enough, I could never find a good connection between the characters, no doubt that Crowe can perform on his movies and no doubt on Marion either, but on many parts of this movie you can get bored, and from my perspective there are many unnecessary scenes. Definitely forgettable.… Expand
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
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4
LindaL.May 28, 2007
It's hard to believe Russell Crowe could be this bad. He's such a fantastic actor that I wanted to believe he could do OK in this change-of-pace role, but it's just not his cup of chardonnay. Something I haven't seen It's hard to believe Russell Crowe could be this bad. He's such a fantastic actor that I wanted to believe he could do OK in this change-of-pace role, but it's just not his cup of chardonnay. Something I haven't seen mentioned: The soundtrack here is horrible! It's incongruous, annoying, irrelevant; a smart, pleasant score might have helped (a little).… Expand
2 of 3 users found this helpful
10
EdwardLOct 17, 2009
This is one of my favorite romantic comedies.
2 of 3 users found this helpful
10
ExpectonerAug 31, 2013
Poor, Poor Film critic You can't realise when you see a little good film when you see it !
This film is just one of the best Romance film i have seen !
Thx a lot Mr Scott Thx a lot For all ure flims
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
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0
JonathanHDec 25, 2006
I saw this movie in Barcelona. The sound dropped out for ten minutes and while the audience waited ten minutes for the projectionist to notice I provided a monotone simultaneous translation of the Spanish subtitles into English. Definitely I saw this movie in Barcelona. The sound dropped out for ten minutes and while the audience waited ten minutes for the projectionist to notice I provided a monotone simultaneous translation of the Spanish subtitles into English. Definitely the highlight of the evening for those who had wasted money on this pathetic trash. Sometimes i wonder if making movies like this is part of some kind of tax evasion scheme.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
NancyH.Nov 10, 2006
Beautiful scenery, good supporting cast but no sympathy on the main character. Russell Crowe plays cad well but there is no leap to sympathetic romantic character--perhaps it was the script?
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
KingC.Nov 13, 2006
A total bomb for the great Mr. Crowe who will now eat some humble pie; that is, if he doesn't throw it at the director.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
StephenS.Nov 20, 2006
A very well-rounded film. Possibly the best that I've seen this year.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
8
MimiB.Mar 17, 2007
Much more enjoyable than the critics led me to believe, and Crowe was a pleasant surprise.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
AnneB.Apr 3, 2008
I love this movie. I don't know why the critics didn't like it. If you have ever been to Provence this movie gives you a real taste of what it's like. Not to mention, it's a great story about how there is more to life I love this movie. I don't know why the critics didn't like it. If you have ever been to Provence this movie gives you a real taste of what it's like. Not to mention, it's a great story about how there is more to life than money. I really enjoyed it.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
SidiotNov 12, 2006
Dull and boring = prosaic.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
1
DunceC.Nov 18, 2006
I can't believe that Russell Crowe let this be released. Awful is not strong enough of a word. Avoid. I gave a one for the scenery that belongs on the National Geographic channel not in a feature film.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
TyranianSep 7, 2019
Crowe is good and the film has strong moments but is otherwise meandering and tonally weak.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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7
DongangstarDec 30, 2011
This is a good film, despite the fact that the story isn't very special. It's well played, and it must said: great locations! We get to know a fine part of France, - this beauty has been translated perfectly in the film. About the acting: itThis is a good film, despite the fact that the story isn't very special. It's well played, and it must said: great locations! We get to know a fine part of France, - this beauty has been translated perfectly in the film. About the acting: it was ok, I think Marion Cottilard did the best job, Russell Crowe was ok. The music suited this picture, it was a beautiful puzzle. Enjoy this film, but not expect a great story.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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7
MrBlackTronJul 28, 2014
Russell Crowe u öküz rolünde oynatınca başarılı oluyor demek. :) Yönetmen koltuğunda Ridley Scott görünce de şaşırmamak elde değil ama bu tarz filmleri sevmememe rağmen oturup izlediğime göre türüne göre başarılı, çok bilindik hikaye herşeyRussell Crowe u öküz rolünde oynatınca başarılı oluyor demek. :) Yönetmen koltuğunda Ridley Scott görünce de şaşırmamak elde değil ama bu tarz filmleri sevmememe rağmen oturup izlediğime göre türüne göre başarılı, çok bilindik hikaye herşey sıradan ama filmin ortamı çok güzel insanı etkisi altına alıyor.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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6
aurora1Dec 18, 2021
One of the most remarkable things in "A Good Year" is the music written by Marc Streitenfeld, an ethereal and melancholic instrumental piece that adds a fascinating depth to an otherwise formulaic and predictable movie. Mind you: predictable,One of the most remarkable things in "A Good Year" is the music written by Marc Streitenfeld, an ethereal and melancholic instrumental piece that adds a fascinating depth to an otherwise formulaic and predictable movie. Mind you: predictable, but not boring. Just as a scrumptious french cake, layers and layers of exquisite ingredients work their way into building an hymn to the joy de vivre, the pleasure for the little things and what is most important in life, which is life itself. Among those ingredients, a charming and flawless Russell Crowe, an adorable Marion Cotillard and Albert Finney in the role of a cheeky old uncle, whose wisdom resonates from the past in beautifully crafted flashbacks. A sour note is the bit when the vine grower explains to his wife how, later in the night, she's gonna get the meaning of the word "sodomite": just an unnecessary heavy handed piece of dialogue in a picture that wanted to be romantic and immersed in light; that only lowered the mark quite a bit.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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5
FilmClubMar 27, 2016
A light rose from Ridley Scott compared to the hefty cabernets he usually turns out, “A Good Year” is a divertissement, an excuse for the filmmakers and cast to enjoy a couple of months in Provence and for the audience, by proxy, to spend aA light rose from Ridley Scott compared to the hefty cabernets he usually turns out, “A Good Year” is a divertissement, an excuse for the filmmakers and cast to enjoy a couple of months in Provence and for the audience, by proxy, to spend a couple of hours there.

Story of a rapacious London bonds trader tempted to opt out of the fast lane for life at an inherited chateau is more than a bit self-referential for both Scott and the source book’s author, Peter Mayle. The two worked together in the advertising and commercials world 30 years ago, with Mayle eventually giving it up to write books, beginning with the massively successful “A Year in Provence” in 1991. Scott also has a home and vineyard in the area.

So when the allure of the simple life is expressed here, it is only on the most fantastic terms, with the best wine, food, views and women already in place for instantaneous consumption. As a real-life fantasy it’s hard to beat; as a film, it’s an agreeable slice of lifestyles-of-the-rich voyeurism.

After a brief prologue devoted to conceited British boy Max (Freddie Highmore) being indoctrinated in the finer points of wine by his life-lusting Uncle Henry (Albert Finney) at the latter’s estate in the south of France, Max (Russell Crowe) enters as an even more self-satisfied adult on the trading floor, finessing a fantastic profit in one session that raises the ire of his rivals.

Notified that his uncle has died and left him the chateau, he flies down to wrap up the paperwork to facilitate a quick sale of the property, which promises to net Max another small fortune. Heedless of the feelings of his uncle’s longtime winemaker Francis (Didier Bourdon) and the latter’s wife, Ludivine (Isabelle Candelier), Max cares about nothing but money and winning, and while in France relishes driving past a bunch of bicyclists and yelling gleefully at them “Lance Armstrong!”

Given that the estate’s little dog is named Tati and that clips from “M. Hulot’s Holiday” and “Mon Oncle” are glimpsed at one point, it’s safe to assume Scott admires the great French comic filmmaker Jacques Tati. Along those lines, Crowe takes quite a few pratfalls in the course of the film, including one into a waterless swimming pool with walls too high to climb up, a predicament that allows him to begin his sparring match with lovely local restaurant owner Fanny (Marion Cotillard), who’s sworn off men.

But in a story like this, it can only be a woman who makes the blind man see the light. And so it is when Max and Fanny, two young but hard souls — who, they figure out, once met as children on the land — finally come together in an endearing breakthrough scene extremely well played by Crowe and Cotillard. For a moment, pic approaches a level of genuine intoxication.

Rather than for its more rambunctious physicality, pic is often more appealing in its throwaway asides, such as the one in the pool when a filthy Max mincingly mutters the famous lines from “Lawrence of Arabia” about why Lawrence likes the desert: “It’s clean. I like it because it’s clean.”

His hair smoothed and straightened into something like a 1920s look, and outfitted with glasses much of the time, Crowe executes a lightweight change of pace with his charisma entirely intact, even if he still hasn’t mastered an English accent that fits comfortably with Finney’s or Highmore’s. There are moments when the enchanting Cotillard resembles a Gallic, dark-haired Reese Witherspoon, and Aussie thesp Cornish, in her first Hollywood film, continues her quick ascent with a perfect Yank accent and a nice note of observant reserve.

The setting could hardly be made to look less than glorious, and production standards are up to what one expects from a Scott picture. All the same, lensing is not as resplendent as it might have been; numerous shots sharing bright and dark areas aren’t well balanced, and faces are sometimes underlit. The soundtrack, fleshed out with an eclectic array of tunes, is lively.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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3
cinewill1Nov 5, 2016
The Good Year really wishes is was good. even though i was entertained, i thought how much better it would have been with better story and and character conflicts. I've spent summers in the south of France as a Brit kid and the scenery isThe Good Year really wishes is was good. even though i was entertained, i thought how much better it would have been with better story and and character conflicts. I've spent summers in the south of France as a Brit kid and the scenery is breathtaking but needed to be more woven into the tapestry.
I guess the great foreigners in sexy Provence has yet to be made! Had it been made by a frenchman at least 2-3 people would have had sex, and suffered the complications, but from a Brit director....C'est La Vie!… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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7
DawdlingPoetJul 8, 2022
This is a fairly enjoyable watch - yes its very cheesy and predictable but sometimes that's no bad thing. I wouldn't say it's outright hilarious or constantly amusing but it does have what I'd call gentle comedy, with Russell Crowe beingThis is a fairly enjoyable watch - yes its very cheesy and predictable but sometimes that's no bad thing. I wouldn't say it's outright hilarious or constantly amusing but it does have what I'd call gentle comedy, with Russell Crowe being quite amusing at times, as the hapless 'fish out of water' Londoner in Provence. Watching him driving a small Smart car near the start of the film was really quite amusing! there aren't too many similarly funny scenes but there are some. If you can stand the cheese and the stereotypes of uncaring London banker types not being too endearing to the French, then you may enjoy this film, for the cinematography, the sense/element of childhood nostalgia, a sort of summery escapist feel and the ocassional funny moment but that aside, its certainly not a particularly memorable film or otherwise especially noteworthy, so I suppose I wouldn't go out of my view to recommend it as such, no.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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10
DenimSMay 5, 2021
one of my favorite movies… great romantic story, fantastic spirit of Toscana, top actors… watched more than 10 times and will continue for sure
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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