Another Year

Mike Leigh's Another Year is not an easy film to watch; it's an intimate ensemble drama that ruthlessly peels back society's artifice to reveal an uncomfortable truth about growing old—that sometimes there are mistakes that can't be fixed, problems that can't be solved, and lives that can't be saved. Divided into a seasonally inspired four-act structure bursting with thoughtful details and lush cinematogaphy, the film is a devastatingly subtle examination of the different paths taken by, among others, happily married, middle-aged London couple Tom and Gerri (Leigh regulars Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen) and Gerri's boozily desperate friend Mary (a stunning Lesley Manville). Leigh, who creates his scripts from legendarily intense and lengthy improv rehearsals, is richly rewarded by his cast; Broadbent and Sheen deliver their lived-in performances with a gently loving rapport, while Peter Wight's portrayal of Tom's broken-down college mate is poignantly rough. But it's Manville's downward spiral into barely concealed depression and insecurity that drives the whisper-thin narrative and what lingers long after the haunting final scene. Another Year is yet another example of Leigh's extraordinary ability to craft naturalistic films whose simple characters and small-scale dramas offer a peek into our own lives.