Another Year
If you create a list on the best directors in the world, how far down the list would it be till you get to Mike Leigh. Despite the fact he is award winning and, brilliant, I don’t think people give him the thought that they do other directors. But if you look at his back catalogue, from the dark and brutal Naked to the brilliant Happy Go Lucky that put Sally Hawkins truly on the map. As well as creating some phenomenal plays Mike Leigh is an outstanding director and writer, able to capture British life so well that he almost takes a camera and records the ordinary lives.
One of his films that truly captures this his 2010 Another Year. The movie stars Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen as couple Tom and Gerri, a geologist and counsellor. They are a happily married joyful couple who take life in their stride. It follows their journey through another year, dealing with people important in their life who have different varying levels of sadness including Tom’s brother Ronnie, their divorced and heavy drinker Ken and the scatty Mary from Gerri’s work. Leigh choose to follow the stories intertwining with one another.
Another Year is a superb example of how writing drama and rounded human characters can push your movie along. The film needs no major spark to burn through joyfully. Here, Leigh creates these three dimensional characters whose mind-sets and sadness come from the inability to see glee or ask for help. This is shown more so in Mary, a completely complex yet utterly realistic character. She balances this dizzy earnest character. Mary tries to slot in with Gerri’s life but ultimately falls out of sync when her affections get the better of her and cause her to sink into herself. Played spectacularly well by Lesley Manville, Mary becomes this heart wrenching character because you are completely behind her vagueness and giddiness, wanting her to succeed as she tries to capture the joy that her friends have. She relies on other to perpetuate a validation and when that sucker begins to loosen, she is thrown into an inner turmoil.
Leigh tells this story so gut wrenchingly well, that it is more about the emotions woobly underneath the characters, rather than them shouting and screaming at each other. It is, at the essence, true drama. It is less about the words that the characters say, but the ones they don’t. Hiding beneath masks, Leigh dictates this beautiful story about the day to day struggles people face. Having Tom and Gerri juxtaposed with their friends is a nice touch, because it shows that lovely honest people can exist and still help their friends in time of need. It is gripping, which is incredibly impressive in a film that could easily succumb to pace. Ingenious, Another Year is an accomplished British piece and indeed, secures Leigh as a favourite home-grown artist.
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