Gladiator duo Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe reteam for this adaptation of
author Peter Mayle's best-selling novel about a London-based investment banker
who relocates to Provence in hopes of selling a small vineyard he has inherited
from his recently-deceased uncle. As a child, Max Skinner (Freddie Highmore) was
taught to appreciate the finer things in life while wandering the vineyard
estate of his sophisticated uncle Henry (Albert Finney). Life has a strange way
or turning out how you least expect it to though, and twenty-five years later
Max (Russell Crowe) is now a prosperous money man wheeling and dealing in the
cutthroat world of London business. When Max learns that Henry has recently
passed away and that he has been named the sole beneficiary of his late uncle's
modest estate, the keen businessman hastily arranges a flight to France in order
to assess the value of the old property and get it prepped for sale. After Max
arrives to find the vineyard in a crumbling state of disrepair, his troubles are
further compounded by the stubbornness of gruff estate winemaker M. Duflot
(Didier Bourdon) and the unexpected arrival of a determined California beauty
named Christie (Abbie Cornish) who presents herself as a long-lost cousin while
making a dubious claim to Henry's estate. Meanwhile, the overstressed Max
reluctantly finds himself falling for local café owner and town siren Fanny
(Marion Cotillard), whose formidable guard is quickly worn down by the smitten
beneficiary. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
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