Plus, there's the pleasure of seeing Crowe lighten his load for once and not carry the weight of Marlon Brando on his shoulders. The actor even goes in for a little slapstick here, and while it's hardly convincing -- it's like watching a Brahma bull trying to tap dance -- you appreciate the effort.
When we first meet Max Skinner (Crowe), he's a British master of the universe, a currency trader who's happy to break a gentleman's agreement if there's profit to be had. (Actually, he does it for the sheer joy of being mean.) Max has it all -- a fast-track career, a devoted assistant (Archie Punjabi), willowy women by the boxcar -- but is he really happy? If you answer yes, you don't get out of the house enough.
In flashback, we've seen young Max at play in the French vineyards of his Uncle Henry (Albert Finney), an aging rapscallion who pegs the kid as his proper heir in knavery. Freddie Highmore, the heart-wrencher of "Finding Neverland" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," plays Crowe as a boy, and he instinctively gets the ego and the quickness of the future man -- the love of getting one over on another person. Lord, is this kid good.
Back in modern-day England, Max gets word that Henry has died and left the Provence estate to him; he reluctantly leaves his London kingdom and crosses the Channel to sell the place. Cue the birdsong, the swoony Franche music, and a lighting change from cold blues to deep, honeyed ambers. Seriously, the yellow-filter budget for "A Good Year" probably cost more than all of "Little Miss Sunshine."
At this point, Scott and company just stop and smell the lavender. "Year" crawls to a halt while Max investigates the fruits of his vineyard -- it tastes like battery acid, unfortunately -- jousts with the slovenly estate caretaker (Didier Bourdon), and drinks in the sight of the local femmes. The film's big joke is that there isn't a shabby-looking woman in the entire province and that beauty is encoded among them at the genetic level. The men, of course, are free to look like swine.
