Mike Leigh's ANOTHER YEAR

A review

Another Year, a film precisely crafted by a director at the peak of his creative skills; a gentle and warm yet brutal study of a certain kind of Englishness found in the social interactions of suburbia, of lines drawn on the sand which are not supposed to be trespassed, and of loneliness while being with others.

Understated and nuanced yet merciless performances by Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen and Lesley Manville, and the whole of the cast,  tear apart the conventions that underline the day to day social interactions of the middle classes. Yet Leigh’s eye is always sympathetic with his characters, never judgemental. He presents them up there on the screen with an admirable economy of means for us to make up our minds. As usual with his films, the plot itself does not amount to much, just a year on the life of a couple, their sons and those surrounding them.

The magic of Leigh’s films resides in the humanity of its details, in his compassionate yet ruthless eye, in his ability to relate with us, his audience.

Magnificently filmed by Dick Pope, with a very controlled and close camera and lighting, without any of the fancy hand held movements so many recent British movies have indulged in, the attention is always centred on the actors and the story. A lesson in film making.

This is supreme story telling, absolutely brilliant in its forensic precision!

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Trailer and synopsis