A Good Year is a 2006 British-American romantic comedy directed and produced by Ridley Scott.
Plot[]
Young Max Skinner, whose parents died in an accident, spends his childhood summer holidays learning to appreciate the finer things at his Uncle Henry's vineyard estate in Provence in southeastern France. Twenty-five years later, Max is a successful but arrogant workaholic trader in London with a cheeky persona.
Following his uncle's death, Max is the sole beneficiary of the French property. He travels to Provence to prepare a quick sale. Shortly after arriving, by driving while fumbling with a cell phone, he unknowingly causes a local café owner, Fanny Chenal, to crash her bicycle. Subsequently, he discovers that his latest City financial stunt has caused real trouble for the owners of the trading company he works for, and he is ordered to return to London as soon as possible.
To assist in his planned sale of the property, Max hurriedly snaps some photos and, in the process, falls into an empty and very dirty swimming pool. He is unable to escape until Fanny finds him and, in retaliation for his running her over, simply turns on the water so that the pool eventually fills and he is able to get himself out. This delay causes Max to miss his flight and, having failed to report to the directors in person, he is suspended from work and trading activities for one week.
On Henry's estate, Max must deal with the gruff, dedicated winemaker Francis Duflot, who fears being separated from his precious vines. Duflot pays a vineyard inspector to tell Max that the soil is bad and the vines worthless.
They are surprised by the arrival of young Napa Valley oenophile Christie Roberts, who is backpacking through Europe and claims to be Henry's previously unknown illegitimate daughter. Max learns, but does not tell her, that French law decrees that even though she is not his uncle's legitimate daughter, she still becomes the rightful heir to the estate and vineyards.
As Max did earlier, Christie finds the house wine unpalatable but is impressed by Max's casual offering of the boutique Le Coin Perdu ("The Lost Corner") vintage, noting some intriguing characteristics. During dinner at the Duflot house, while slightly inebriated, Max exposes his concern that she might lay claim to the estate and brusquely interrogates her.
Max's assistant Gemma warns him of the ambitious antics of other employees. To ensure he is not usurped by Kenny, his second-in-command in London, through whom Max continues to direct trades, he intentionally gives the ambitious young trader bad advice, getting him fired.
Max becomes enamoured with Fanny, who is rumoured to have sworn off men. He successfully woos her into his bed. She leaves him the next morning, expecting him to return to his life in London. A disillusioned Christie also decides to move on. Max finds his uncle's memoirs, which contain proof of her heritage. Max bids her farewell while handing her an unexplained note inside a book she was reading. While informing Duflot of the pending estate sale, Max learns that the mysterious expensive Le Coin Perdu was made by Henry and Duflot with "illegal vines" from the estate, bypassing wine classification and appellationlaws.
The estate is sold and Max returns to London where Sir Nigel, the company chairman, offers him a choice: either a large discharge settlement, or the partnership in the trading firm. Max asks about Nigel's art in the conference room, van Gogh's Road with Cypress and Star, which Fanny has a copy of in her restaurant. Upon Nigel's dismissive comment that the real one is kept in a vault and the $200,000 copy in the office is for show, Max reconsiders whether he wants to still be like Nigel.
Max invalidates the estate's sale with the farewell letter he gave to Christie, which he forged, along with real photos confirming Christie as Henry's daughter with a valid claim to the entire estate. (As a child, Max signed checks for his uncle and is able to replicate his handwriting.) He puts his London residence up for sale and returns to Provence, entering into a relationship with Fanny, both of them remembering their connection as children. Christie also returns and she and Francis jointly run the vineyard while trying to reconcile their vastly different philosophies of wine production. This enables Max to focus his entire attention on Fanny.
Cast[]
- Russell Crowe as Max Skinner
- Freddie Highmore as young Max Skinner
- Albert Finney as Uncle Henry
- Marion Cotillard as Fanny Chenal
- Abbie Cornish as Christie Roberts
- Didier Bourdon as Francis Duflot
- Tom Hollander as Charlie Willis
- Isabelle Candelier as Ludivine Duflot
- Kenneth Cranham as Sir Nigel
- Archie Panjabi as Gemma
- Rafe Spall as Kenny
- Richard Coyle as Amis
- Daniel Mays as Bert, the doorman
- Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as notaire Nathalie Auzet
- Giannina Facio as maître d'
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