Another Year

Another Year

5/5

Director: Mike Leigh

Starring: Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen

What can be so interesting about an old but loving married couple who could not be happier with their lives? Well, according to Mike Leigh, the director of one of this year's best films, quite a lot. It's the people around them that present all the deep, complex emotional problems. In a film that is separated over one year, the four seasons bring about four unique episodes of supporting characters with their own struggles. For Tom (Jim Broadbent) and Gerri (Ruth Sheen), the blissfully married couple, the coming year is just...well..."another year," but a year can bring out so much pain in others, pain that they have to acknowledge and ultimately, deal with.

Fulfilling jobs (He's a geologist, she's a medical counsellor), nice soothing hobbies, stable home, healthy conversations, great meals are what make up Tom and Gerri's successful marriage. But just because they're living the picture-perfect life, it doesn't mean their friends are. Take Gerri's colleague Mary (Lesley Manville) for example; after a string of unsuccessful relationships including some failed marriages, she is lonely, and knocking back glasses of wine is a common occurrence for her sad existence. She has not given up hope, and is convinced that men are still interested in her. She eventually sets her eyes on Tom and Gerri's only son Joe (Oliver Maltman), and is quite naturally bitter and devastated when he brings around a young, attractive, perky fiancée (Karina Fernandez) home one day.

So many of the events seen in "Another Year" seem uninteresting, an everyday happening that takes place all around us. A male/female friend visiting for dinner, a son visiting for a few days, Tom's sister-in-law passing away etc...but Leigh makes sure that every single event means something significant and with the film's central theme of company and loneliness, each seasonal episode is there to bring about new revelations and new characters that make a significant impact on the general flow of the film's narrative.

Tom and Gerri are great to those around them. No matter how annoying or slightly inappropriate some of their friends may be, they tolerate them with all their heart. Mary, all alone with her tiny car she drives so nervously, goes on and on (always with a large glass of wine in one of her hands, of course) about the most insignificant details of her life. She gets chattier and makes even less sense when drunk. Her rambling may be hysterical at first, but as she continues her blabbering, the audience is given enough time and invasive close-up shots to realise just how hopeless the character is. Manville arguably gives the best performance in a film full of outstanding ones. She brings out enough humour from her character but every facial expression on her face reminds us of something more depressing and desperate. She may not be a likable character, but is someone you can feel sympathy for. Manville magically transforms this otherwise hateful spinster into a victim of chronic loneliness. The film's final moment is focused solely on Manville and no one else. The camera stays on the actress' face for a good few minutes. With no music or background dialogue, Manville alone is perfectly able to portray the fear and worry for the tragedy that no doubt awaits her. Hollywood has never been too kind to British performers and although Manville deserves a Best Supporting Actress Oscar and many more awards of its kind more than anyone this year, it's highly unlikely she will win. But she should clear some space on her shelves for some UK awards she is bound to win.

Yet another struggling victim is Ken (Peter Wight), a heavy-drinking (He downs three glasses of wine and a can of beer as Tom and Gerri gracefully enjoy their first glasses of wine), heavy-eating (Vegetables? No thank you) and heavy-smoking lad in his 60's who has obviously been alone for far too long; he tries to find some sort of deep companionship with Mary, something that ends with a hysterical outcome. He tries to put on a brave face to start with, but as he opens up more and more about his personal life, even the tough exterior cannot keep his tears from flooding out. His breakdown scene is handled beautifully, with Wight's highly sentimental, teary portrayal and the warm-hearted Gerri walking over to his side, hugging him.

Another brief but powerful section of the film takes place when Tom, Gerri and Joe visit Ronnie (David "Argus Filch" Bradley), Tom's older brother, after his wife passes away. Bradley, as can be expected, is in shock, in total withdrawal from society and people. He is leading a ghost-like existence, and with the help of Tom's family, barely gets himself together to finally say goodbye to his wife. The funeral is going smoothly in a depressingly empty church, until Ronnie's rebellious, hooligan-looking son Carl (Martin Savage) struts in almost at the end of the service. Carl obviously has a lot of issues and uncontrollable sense of anger towards his father who he deems unfit and pathetic. Savage only appears for a short scene, but his powerful presence is an unforgettable one, and his no-nonsense, audacious performance is one that sticks to the mind, because of how much chaos and terror his single character brings into an otherwise peaceful, mourning household.

Mike Leigh's go-to cinematographer Dick Pope once again works his magic here creating beautiful scenery of the four seasons set largely around the house of Tom and Gerri. He moves the audience from one season to another with elegance, portraying each season with utmost care to fit the various events that are prepared for us.

Rich with low-key, often subtle but hugely effective humour as well as some heart-wrenching drama, "Another Year" is one of Leigh's finest works of his career. The title and general gist of the film may be off-putting for some for being "too British." And yes, this is as British as they come, but it's simply outstanding because of it. With its ups and downs, laughs and tears, "Another Year" is the note-perfect human drama that examines closely but never takes itself far too seriously.