A GOOD YEAR

Russell Crowe comes to a crossroads in his life in Ridley Scott’s drama, A GOOD YEAR. Crowe is Max Skinner, a successful, but immoral London stock broker, who inherits his Uncle Henry’s vineyard in France. Max initially plans on selling the property to the highest bidder, but after returning to the vineyard and recollecting back to childhood memories, he begins to have second thoughts.

After watching Crowe as a gladiator, a big-tobacco snitch, a schizophrenic mathematician and a depression-era boxer, I didn’t feel there was a role the Aussie couldn’t handle. Ridley Scott has proved me wrong. Crowe’s Skinner is a tough character to get a handle on. Crowe plays Max as a successful, cocky and chauvinistic playboy who’s more worried about dollars than common sense. He plays this part just fine, but has a hard time with Max’s transformation. Despite the well-detailed flashbacks, Crowe isn’t able to win over our hearts. His charm-less Max pales in comparison to Tom Cruise’s Jerry Maguire, despite the two characters obvious similarities, and Scott isn’t able to recognize his star performer’s deficiency. Crowe and Scott aren’t the only ones to blame, as writers Marc Klein and Peter Mayle script a completely unlikable character, and even the costume design team struggles with Max. A GOOD YEAR is a character driven film, with little character.

Grade: C-