The power of this film creeps up on you by stealth; its dramatic idiom is admittedly mannered in the Leigh style but shy of caricature, and designed consistently to abrade the audience's consciousness without irritating – fingertips down the blackboard, not fingernails.
Extracting big drama out of small events is Mike Leigh's forte, and with his latest little masterpiece, Another Year, the English director pushes himself to the extreme.
A brief but piercing cameo by Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake), as a desolate old woman who fiercely rejects professional counseling for depression, drives home Leigh's greatest insight, that true happiness is not found but realized.
Leigh's Another Year is like a long, purifying soak in empathy.
What it does have is an overwhelming bittersweet melancholy at the passing of life from middle age into…well, you could call it late middle age.
A quintessential Mike Leigh performance. It deepens as it goes along until, in the end, in its final close-up, it overwhelms.
Getting a small cohort of humanity dead right is an impressive artistic achievement, but Mike Leigh's beautifully modulated English drama Another Year advances even farther.
The performances are winning, the story is surprising without relying on unlikely twists, and the relationships are the richest and most nuanced since Leigh's "Secrets & Lies."
Measured in pace, yet thoroughly gripping and completely accessible. The title soft-sells the picture, but it's among the best of this or any year. And Manville should clear some shelf space for well-deserved awards.
These characters are more than what we see on the surface, and it's thanks to Leigh's rigorous yet generous eye that we never just gawk at the drama.
The large number of characters from the beginning in the film and dialogue-oriented actions may make us repeat to ourselves how the time of 129 minutes of the film passes? But as the film progresses, we encounter a wonderful film and the director of the film "Mike Lee" once again shows off his skills. We are witnessing a live and believable movie. This movie depicts the daily life of a family and their close people in four seasons. The script is detailed and detailed, maybe not flawless, but it is well written and has strong characterization that shows how experienced and masterful "Mike Leigh" is. The four seasons of the movie are an allegory of the four periods of human life. At the beginning of the movie Doctor and the Depressed Patient, it is the beginning of the spring of life. All four parts of the film (spring, summer, autumn and winter) are attractive and warm and lively, but the winter part is something else. This is great and the best of them all. "Lesley Manville" is so good that even "Mike Leigh" can't ignore it and ends the movie with her. The film ends with the situation unknown and to be unknown Mary, although the film revolves around the “Hepple” couple. But the character of Mary, played by Leslie Manville, overshadows the film. This movie is nominated for an Oscar for its screenplay, and Leslie Manville's performance also attracted the attention of the world.
This is really quite a poignant film about the domestic life of an English family - a somewhat dysfunctional family but a fairly typical one otherwise - middle to upper-middle class etc. At first, it may appear a bit humdrum and it has a fairly slow plot pace but for me, it was the final scenes that really packed a punch. I suppose you could say I can relate to certain aspects of one of the characters. I liked how the camera angles chosen to help highlight certain things. The music played as the credits rolled at the end was quite good too. I thought it was quite a touching film, which I would happily recommend.
so realistic that it seems fictional.. Another Year 4 And A Half Out Of 5 Another Year is a character driven drama about an unstable relationship among family and friends that lethally cuts down the innocence. Tugging down the soul from each character vigorously, Leigh's narration has never been of such dark themes that makes the viewers cringe on the seat. It is so realistic, that it seems fictional, it is so husky that it seems all crispy and it is so bizarrely ingenious that it seems natural. Leigh's world in here grabs the audience and sinks deeper along with them to a point where the concept it meddles with is of such higher ideal that may require less ordinary mind to shuffle out of it. The pragmatic dinner table conversations are just delight on top of its layered thought provoking policy that one should hold on to. The writing is so strong and mature that it doesn't rely upon necessary technical aspects like background score and sound department. The camera work is amazing with beautiful shots, decent cinematography and breezy environment that makes it immensely pleasing to encounter. It also emits the typical " theatre" vibes where the sequences are shot in a single take with amazing performance. Leigh; the writer-director, has created a masterpiece which is thoroughly busy in its lane with sharp, adaptive and gripping screenplay. As mentioned earlier, the performance objective is majestically scored especially by Manville who is a revelation in here along with an amazing supporting cast like Broadbent and Sheen. Gut wrenching honesty, grounded writing and three dimensional characters are the high points of the feature that helps it make it on top of the game. Another Year is a rare cinematic art whose definition of celebrating a glorifying victory is to merely accept it and get on with it.
Another boring year for these guys. Another year has great acting, a well written script by Mike Leigh and it may not be every ones type of film to watch, but it's still worth a watch to those who are interested in watching the movie.
Really well made with some tremendous performances; I loved the down-to-earth tone of the piece. Mike Leigh does make some great dramas and he really gets great performances from his actors. In this one I loved both Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen, but the star of the show was definitely Lesley Manville. She had to go through the whole gamut of emotions and did it quite brilliantly (IMO). It’s not a film that will be to everyone’s taste; the explosion count is zero; car chases get a similar score and as for deaths, well, there is one, but we only find out about that one when they have to go to the funeral. But I digress; I found it a really engaging film with some real characters that are both believable and well rounded. It’s nice to see British people portrayed as they are for a change, instead of some stereotypical ‘vision’ of what everyone thinks they are. On the down side, I did find it went on just a tad too long at the end, but I’m not going to hold that against it. It’s well worth a look if you get the chance. SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED My score: 8.2/10.
If this is what Mike Leigh encounters in his every day life then I think he should find another circle of friends. His new friends should be calm, articulate and capable of getting through a sentence without the use of an idiom.
Wonderful, small and sad but enjoyable. These ordinary people may even provide the viewer with self-reflective thoughts.
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As far as acting is concerned, "Another Year" is full of stellar performances. Lesley Manville is superb as the family friend who is unhappy with her life, but is unable to face the reality of it. Broadbent and Sheen are also excellent in their performances, but so is the supporting staff. Leigh's sweetheart from before, Imelda Staunton, is poignant and a memorable character, though she only appears in the first five minutes of the film. Leigh has done a good character study of unhappy, depressed people and how they might look, behave, what they might talk about, etc. What Leigh failed at doing is managing to make the film more dynamic and appealing to a broader audience. Yes, he has excellent characters and excellent performances, but those cannot make a great film on their own. Making a film look real does not mean that it has to be boring or mundane. There are certainly times when the film feels contrived and too "artsy" in favour of the entertainment value. Then again, Leigh never really went for entertainment value over his craft, so that is to no surprise. Definitely not a film for everyone, but it is an interesting story with super acting, which definitely makes it worth the watch!
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Laugh, Love, and Live. I always thought that those signs in people's houses were pretty corny, but I think it could describe Tom and Gerri. The movie captures nearly everything about life (birth, death, love, regret, the list goes on) in a passing of a year. The movie made me reflect on my life and the lives of others around me; and that's why the movie is universal because I think just about anyone could relate to it's characters.
Another Year is simply a dreadful movie, a cinematic train wreck. You know you shouldn't keep looking but for whatever reason you simply can't look away. It was a wast of time, money and acting talent and I can't believe that some nimrod actually funded it. A gaggle of meaningless characters find each other - no surprise there in that no one else would have much to do with them - and bore each other silly with incomprehensible blather about their aforementioned meaningless lives. There was some good acting though: Lesley Manville (Mary) emotes and emotes and emotes to the point where you want to shoot her and end her misery (and yours), misery that culminates in the "Winter" phase with her friend and National Health Service "counselor", Gerri (Ruth Sheen) quipping, "You need professional help." No, really!!! Say it isn't so. And this only took a year to verbalize! The NHS at its best. Miss Manville's "Mary," although good, is equaled by David Bradley's "Ronnie," the recently widowed brother whose grunts and groans and staring interminably into space is not to be missed, unless, of course, you've already given up, fallen asleep or gone to the loo without bothering to press "pause." On the positive side, Another Year did inspire me to open an account on Metacritic to warn other, unsuspecting victims to spend their time and money elsewhere, like the bowling alley or something. Seriously, it was a consummate waste of time. No plot, no conflict and no resolution: what's not to dislike?
A quiet, melodrama free character study that requires patience. There are no big plot twists or cathartic moments in Another Year, just human beings struggling to make do with the hands they have been dealt in life. Skillfully directed and wonderfully acted, but also a bit of a bore.
This film employed great acting, cinematography, and an engaging storyline. The film moves on a pace that may be a bit slower for some to really enjoy. But the movie does have a realistic and believable portrayal of life. The actors did a great job in letting you understand the issues that they are dealing with personally. The married couple (Tom and Gerri), also reverberated a true deep connection that is shared amongst many long term relationships. There were many awkward moments, heart-felt laughs, and serious situations to enjoy in this film. I would recommend this movie to anyone who has a profound sense of enjoying a true motion picture.
really really enjoyed this film. it is deep, emotional and involving. best watched with low expectations, this film will creep up on you and not let you go.
I feel as though there is a several thousand word review in me to discuss the new Mike Leigh film, Another Year, which was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, but I have to admit this is a film that, though I love for many reasons, I feel not many people I know will ever see it, and so I'm going to sum up my thoughts with a brief reflection. Mary (Leslie Manville) gives one of the absolute best performances I have seen in film, as an aging alcoholic woman who is alone and depressed and desperate but cannot see what she needs to do to change anything. She frequently visits with a co-worker Gerri (Ruth Sheen) who is happily married to Tom (Jim Broadbent) and they seem to tolerate her because they are basically good people living a healthy life together. This is a British film set in the London area with realistic people playing very realistic roles. The film is told through the 4 seasons and takes us through many emotions, but it is totally in the character of Mary that we lose ourselves as we contemplate her sadness, but as Mike Leigh does so well, we don't just see one side from the other characters around this central figure, we see the entire spectrum of good and bad. I would not suggest this film for many people I know, but I would recommend it to anyone who loves a great movie about real life.
The writer-director, Mike Leigh, tries to capture moments of everyday life, which in 'kitchen-sink' England means lots of ashen-skinned people being glad that it's not raining and sad about everything else. And then they drink lots of wine and say pointless things like 'for my sins' a lot. 'Another Year' successfully captures the lack of pace and unedited feel of daily life, and yet strangely Leigh cannot avoid making it seem artificial. Highlights of the film included an interminable sequence in which Leslie Manville puts on a painful slurred-drunkenness act, and a dinner with a character called Ken who had clearly been directed to talk with his mouth full, because no matter when the camera catches him nor how much he's concurrently drinking or seeming to swallow, there is always a chunk of food in the left cheek. A clumsy, awkward, slow, ragged and annoying film. But still miles better than 'Happy Go Lucky'.
Has to be watched more than once to appreciate it. I have not seen a movie which so captures the isolation and despair of loneliness. Its a real movie about real people, those in relationships and those who linger alone.
"Another Year" has a beauty of its own; which could be equally liked and disliked for the same **** main one being: the comfortable and non-judgmental Tom and Gerri could come across as shallow and sadistic as well. Maybe, that's one of the many charms. But I don't really think it is their story. Though it is boring, one might find it hard to label it so. For, there is something that is worth wondering and thinking that stays with her or him.
Not quite what I expected: It's less about the happy couple and why their marriage has succeeded, and more about the miserable characters who orbit around the couple's placid, nurturing lifestyle. Excellent acting makes the characters very true, however, and the themes linger. (E.g., how does one build a happy life, aside from being, as Gerri admits, "lucky"?) As with other Mike Leigh films, one marvels at the harsh, un-Hollywood look of all the mottled complexions, double chins and bad teeth . . . real people with real problems that one hopes will somehow work out.
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