Food tastes better there. The women are naturally beautiful. Walks are more romantic. Wine is more complex... but life is less so. France can turn good memories into grand ones. It replaces currency with passion. It replaces accumulation with appreciation.

I believe the above statement to be very true. France is among the loveliest countries that I've ever been privileged to visit. If they had ESPN, I'd consider moving there. So when I heard that Ridley Scott was directing Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard in a film about a money-hungry British stock-broker who is lured into giving it all up for an inherited French vineyard, I thought it would be right up my alley.

To be honest, the film is so far up my alley that I felt my dreams were being violated. I cannot imagine a life more pleasurable than one spent living in a château, overlooking my own vineyard, waking up every morning to the glorious sensation of Marion Cotillard's morning breath. I'm practically orgasmic at that idea.

"A Good Year" is a crystal glass filled to the brim with 1982 Château Margaux... but unfortunately diluted by some city tap water.

As mentioned before, I loved the premise. The cast is equal to the task. The cinematography is only enhanced by the country's natural canvas. The music is eclectic and joyful, ranging from old standards to a traditional up-tempo score to the modern energy of tracks like Alizee's "Moi Lolita" -- which was, oddly, not chosen to play upon the arrival of a certain character. Nevertheless...

Everything about this film is a deliciously prepared meal... on a paper plate. The plate, in this case, is a flimsy script that brushes over too many details, cannot maintain its tone for more than a scene or two, reaches for grandeur without ever attaining it, and presumes its audience is naive and unworldly.

There are just too many scenes in this film that demanded more time and effort. Characters fall in love too easily. Massive decisions are taken too lightly. The tone shifts uncomfortably from romantic to slapstick to tragic to wistful to sarcastic. It all just felt a little forced. Screenwriter, Marc Klein, seems to be trying too hard. And Ridley Scott seems rushed, as though the studio demanded a running time under two hours.

It is a shame really, because the film has greatness in it... but they uncorked the bottle before it had time to mature.

Russell Crowe is relentlessly reliable on screen. He rarely, if ever, gives even a mediocre performance. It is no wonder that he is so highly regarded. I just thought that his character, Max Skinner (too obvious),was written so two-dimensionally as to handcuff his immense talent. I also thought his English accent was a little too "mate, blimey, b*llocks, b*gger, tally ho" -- If you know what I mean.

Marion Cotillard is typically brilliant as Fanny Chenal, the glorious vision of a waitress from the nearby town. She gives the film, and Max, some heart and soul. She is a fiery French lass with shampoo-commercial hair and skin that makes silk seem like sandpaper. I can't get enough of this actress. She is the visual equivalent of Pringles... once you pop, you can't stop.

Relative newcomer, Abbie Cornish, is also very impressive here. Again, her character, like all the others, is somewhat underwritten. She deserved much more screen time. However, this critic is 100% sure that she will have tons of screen time in many major films over the next decade or so. She is a future star, with talent and beauty in equal measures.

"A Good Year" may remind many of the similar Diane Lane adventure from the female perspective, "Under the Tuscan Sun". The main difference, aside from the sex of the protagonist, is that "Tuscan" decided from the get-go that it was going to be a lighthearted romantic comedy. I think that the screenplay for "A Good Year" got a little confused along the way. Sometimes it aims higher... and that is when it works the best. Other times it aims lower... and that is when it dwindles into lame slapstick comedy. If it had maintained a lofty romantic tone, it may have been one of the best films of the year. As it stands, it is a merely a nice film with a pleasant message.

© Written by TC Candler IndependentCritics.com

Max Skinner (Russell Crowe) is a high-powered self-assured successful investment trader in London. His uncle Henry (Albert Finney) taught him the love of wine. After Henry's death, he inherits the rundown estate in Provence where he spent part of his childhood. He's looking to sell the property as soon as possible. He falls for local waitress Fanny Chenal (Marion Cotillard) after almost running her over with his car. His latest deal has caused problems and he's suspended for a week. Old memories hound him and then American Christie Roberts (Abbie Cornish) shows up claiming to be Henry's abandoned daughter.

Russell Crowe is not right for this slapstick comedy. All his attempts at pratfalls come off flat. Ridley Scott is not known for comedies and it shows. The romance is weak and takes too long to get going. It's a shame considering it has a great actress in Cotillard. Christie provides an interesting mystery but she doesn't fit the light slapstick comedy. It's not bad but it's not funny either.

You might think this looks like an odd choice of genre of film for director Sir Ridley Scott and his leading star of Gladiator to pick together, but it does almost work actually. Basically English banker and trader Max Skinner (Russell Crowe) learns that his Uncle Henry (Albert Finney) has died, and as the only living relative he has inherited his château and vineyard in Provence, France. Through flashbacks we see that Young Max (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Freddie Highmore) spent some of childhood with his Uncle learning about and doing some wine making, and the business of selling it. He goes to the château intent on selling it, and quickly returning to work in London, but it needs quite a bit of repair before it has a showing, so he stays there a few days in the meantime. He also has the inconvenience of young American girl Christie Roberts (Candy's Abbie Cornish),saying she is Henry's illegitimate daughter, living with him. As time goes by however, it is not just his childhood memories changing his mind about things, but he wants to stay very close to his new love interest, French waitress Fanny Chenal (Le Vie En Rose's Marion Cotillard). In the end Max has to choose between his career and the château, but thankfully he manages to take the money, and sell his house in London, before returning to Provence, and of course Fanny. Also starring Rafe Spall as Kenny, Archie Panjabi as Gemma, Richard Coyle as Amis and Pirates of the Caribbean's Tom Hollander as Charlie Willis. Crowe has a very lame English accent, adding unnecessary words like "fellow" and stuff, but he and the beautiful Cotillard manage to charm you, it might not be the funniest film ever, but it is a delightfully good-natured (near romantic) comedy drama. Worth watching!