Russell Crowe is not known for romantic comedies, but he does surprisingly well in “A Good Year.”

Crowe stretches, beyond his typical action movie, to portray a controversial stockbroker, who has to decide between his money and success or the slow-paced life of the French countryside. After spending summers with his uncle Henry (Albert Finney) at a vineyard as a child, Max Skinner (Crowe) grows up to become a selfish and rich man known for making lots of enemies.

The beginning of the movie shows the life he lives by showing all the gadgets he has because of his wealth. But it all seems daunting and arbitrary to the plot. The movie spends a good amount of time showing how versatile Skinner’s cell phone is — it can take pictures and helps him find his way home with GPS.

This could be seen as an attempt at glorifying technology, but there seems to be a deeper meaning.

The entire movie questions the rapid pace that western culture is heading toward.

The slow-paced life at the vineyard shows a drastic contrast to the life Skinner has lived in London, and proves to be a place he cannot leave. He finds love in a woman named Fanny (Marion Cotillard).

A young Max (Freddie Highmore) is one of the best-played characters — but plays just a small role. Highmore, even as a young actor, displayed a great knowledge for his part and amuses throughout the movie.

Crowe seems most relaxed in his role when it requires him to be crass and vulgar, but when he must be anything else he seems uncertain.

Luckily, Crowe’s character is this way mostly throughout.

Even with the less-than-stellar performance the movie was still better than expected. Crowe also gets lucky because his supporting cast is a group of amazing actors. The movie is full of beautiful scenery and touching moments, but can drag on at times.

The film could have been shortened by about 20 minutes without losing much if any of the

story.