Somm

Somm does a fairly impressive job of making wine tasting somewhat cinematic despite its being essentially unfilmable, at least until taste-o-vision comes along.

Perhaps the whole business is too cerebral and circumspect to stir up emotional involvement, or perhaps there’s a tinge of wine snobbery that has a slightly distancing effect. Then again, maybe it’s wrong to expect much in the way of excitement from a quiet art best suited to the sedate setting of a fine restaurant.

The film's formula of following these four from three weeks before the start of things right through the competition is a tried and true one that can't help but have success.

Somm doesn’t try to write the book on wine connoisseurship, but it does give good CliffsNotes.

Though wrenching moments are effectively delivered, the film teeters into clunker territory, with repetitive tasting scenes and cheesy shots of exploding glasses of vino. Too bad, because it’s an otherwise fascinating look into an ultraexclusive process, persuasively depicting the power of the palate.

The film maintains a sluggish calm, like its mellow jazz soundtrack, and suffers from following four players with similar stories.

Somm, though an entree into a little-known world, rarely finds a second dimension.