Another Year

2010 movie

Rating: 15/20

Plot: A year in the life of a married old couple who are happy despite their circle of friends and acquaintances being completely miserable.

My favorite thing about a Mike Leigh movie is that I'm never sure whether I'm supposed to feel happy or sad while watching them. It might depend on the context of the viewer and what characters, lines, or situations that viewer latches onto. The clash between the happily married couple that is the nucleus for all these other characters and the collective of miserable friends who surrounds them manages to intensify the moods. Tom and Gerri (ha!), the couple played by Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen seem even happier contrasted with the pained giggling of Lesley Manville's brand of manic depression, Peter Wight's character who might be a heart attack waiting to happen, and Tom's recently-widowed brother. And those characters' funks are darker in the light of Tom and Gerri's marriage. It's not that this is a major downer through and through or anything because the relationship of Tom and Gerri's son and his girlfriend gives plenty of hope.

The film's structured using four seasons in one year, probably a good choice by Leigh since that's exactly how many seasons a year has. The couple interacts with various friends with Manville, I believe, being the only recurring acquaintance. It's unclear to me whether "spring" or "winter" or whatever have themes or happenings that are especially springy or wintery. I'd probably have to put more thought into that. There's a burgeoning romance. There's a new car. There's a death. Hmm. Maybe there's something smarter about these seasons than what I noticed the first time.

Leigh's dialogue-driven character development is natural. Nothing revolutionary is going on here, and it seems like the sort of movie you'd see all the time. Still, it has this unique flavor. Both the humor and pathos work, creating the kind of movie you almost want to hug.

Terrific final shot, one that leans on the acting of one of these performers.