Operation: Conquer the Netflix Queue: A Good Year

With everything going on with the theatre company and trying to get ready for my vacation, I missed Wendy and Lucy before it was removed from streaming, so I've put it at the front of the line in the dvd queue and gone back to the original watching order.  Which brings us to A Good Year, which I don't remember why I put in the queue in the first place.  It's innocuous and predictable, just like I thought it would be.  

Russell Crowe plays Max Skinner, a successful banker in London, who must go to his uncle's chateau in France after said uncle passes away, leaving no will, hence the entire estate goes to his only living relative, which just happens to be Max.  Following a flashback of a moment between young Max (Freddie Highmore) and his uncle Henry (Albert Finney), the movie spends about twenty minutes demonstrating that Max is greedy, self-absorbed, cold, and just an all around asshole.  It doesn't take that long.  Casting Russell Crowe was enough.  He treats people poorly, objectifies women, and has a pompous attitude that probably comes from his being so successful at his job.  He learns that his uncle has passed away after orchestrating a stock exchange that makes him and his associates a lot of money.  He immediately decides to sell the property, and goes out to France to appraise it.  Turns out, it needs some fixing up before it can be sold, so Max is going to have to stick around for a while.    

Enter Fanny (Marion Cotillard), a pretty French girl who had her heart broken and has since not let any man get close to her.  I saw where this was going from the moment Max almost runs her over in his rental car and carelessly keeps driving.  They don't get to it right away, though, because Max also has to deal with Christie (Abbie Cornish), an American girl who claims to be Henry's daughter.  Which would make her the rightful heir to his property.  In the end, Max gives Christie the property, quits his job, and moves to France to be with Fanny, all after spending a week with these people.  Like most romantic comedies, A Good Year doesn't really take the time to actually explore the relationships between the characters before getting to its predictably happy ending.  

In short, it's ok, for what it is, but there's nothing special about it, and these actors could do much better than this.  Marion Cotillard went on to win an Oscar for her performance in La Vie en Rose, Abbie Cornish had a much more complex role in Candy, and Russell Crowe had previously won an Oscar for Gladiator, and was nominated for A Beautiful Mind and The Insider.

Up next: Brokeback Mountain.