Another Year (2010)
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Movie Overview | Another Year (2010)
Storyline
Plot:
Tom Hepple, a geologist, and Gerri Hepple, a counselor, are an older married couple with a comfortable, loving relationship. The film observes them over the course of a year, through the four seasons, surrounded by family and friends who mostly grapple with some degree of unhappiness.
Gerri's friend and colleague Mary works as a receptionist at the health center. A middle-aged divorcee seeking a new relationship, Mary tells everyone she is happy, but appears desperate and depressed, and seems to drink too much. The Hepples' only child, Joe, is 30 and unmarried, working as a solicitor advising on housing.
In the summer, the Hepples host a barbecue for Tom's old friend Ken, who is overweight, compulsively eats, smokes and drinks, and seems very unhappy. Mary drives to the party but gets lost and arrives late, flirting with Joe after having some wine, though he remains friendly without reciprocating. After the party, Mary reluctantly gives Ken a lift to the train station, where he makes a clumsy romantic advance that she irritably rejects.
Months later in the autumn, Mary appears rude and hostile towards Joe's new girlfriend Katie when she visits the Hepples' home, creating a rift between Gerri and Mary.
In the winter, Tom, Gerri, and Joe attend the funeral for the wife of Tom's estranged brother Ronnie. Ronnie's son Carl arrives late and angrily confronts the family at the reception afterward. Tom and Gerri invite the grieving Ronnie to stay with them for a while.
While Tom and Gerri are away, Mary arrives unannounced at their home, her car wrecked, and persuades Ronnie to let her in. When the Hepples return, they are unhappy to find Mary there. Gerri expresses feeling let down by Mary's earlier behavior, but gradually extends warmth, suggesting Mary seek counseling and inviting her to stay for dinner. The family, including Joe and Katie, enjoy the meal together, though Mary appears lost and uncertain.
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- United Kingdom
- United States
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The only cloud on Tom and Gerri's horizon is that their son, Joe (played by comedian Oliver Maltman), is pushing 30 and lacks a girlfriend. Then again, Joe's single state is a mere blip compared with the misery of a crew of unhappy contemporaries (most of them played by Leigh regulars) who orbit the couple, dropping in for comfort and solace, or to make trouble. A fat childhood friend, Ken (Peter Wight), drowns his loneliness in too much food and drink, while Tom's near-comatose older brother, Ronnie -- played by David Bradley, better known as Argus Filch in the Harry Potter franchise -- has retreated from a wife and children whose unhappiness he probably caused.
But the prize loser of this sorry crew is Gerri's colleague Mary, a clingy, compulsive chatterer who seems to have rushed down every available wrong path by turns, and who never misses an opportunity to hijack a party with boozy, self-pitying monologues about her many burdens and sorrows. We've all met a variant of Mary, and though she's played by Lesley Manville with a show-stopping fervor that many are betting will earn her an Academy Award nomination, Mary made me cringe for all the wrong reasons. And that's to say nothing of Gerri, whose queenly serenity and frequent flights of therapy-speak -- "I'm not angry with you, Mary, but I feel you've let me down" -- would have been savagely lampooned in an early Mike Leigh work like the landmark Abigail's Party. Now they're clearly meant to lasso our approval.
So what is the captivating aspect of this film that quite simply moves through the four seasons in a quiet reflection of how time slips by? As I said, nothing really happens; or rather nothing happens directly to them. Tom’s brother Ronnie loses his wife, and the terrible grief of these scenes is positively palpable. Again, sitting in the movie theater I asked myself what was so compelling about this film. With virtually no plot—no action, no real drama, no special effects, no computer-generated gizmos, no car chases, no car crashes … we only hear about their neurotic friend Mary’s car troubles, we don’t see them—it can only be said that character, real living people drive this film.
The acting is sublime with characters such as their old friend Ken (Peter Wight), who visits from the North during the summer and masks an unhappy personal life with ample smoking, drinking and eating. His drunken behavior is totally cringe-worthy because we realize that we’ve all got friends like these. It is a tribute to the director that I felt as if I was watching real people; that somehow I had wandered into their lives by accident. I know and admire Jim Broadbent’s acting skills, but as Tom he was somehow not Jim Broadbent playing the part of Tom. He was Tom. From the moment I saw the opening scene of Tom and Gerri running through the rain from their front door to the car, with boxes of seedling and garden implements, I was hooked. I truly believed in the person called Tom and his wife called Gerri. Ditto for the remaining characters. The exquisite craftsmanship of the director draws the viewer into the situation so that by the time Mary (superbly played by Lesley Manville), their problematic friend, throws yet another tantrum related to her anxieties about ageing, you just want to throw her and her neuroses through the front door.
The film is made in unforgiving close-up, something I deeply admire the British acting fraternity for accepting as ‘part of the job.’ Most British films are characterized by a dearth of silicone and other cosmetic enhancements, minimal make-up, and plenty of real acting. The close-ups also reveal the inner soul of the characters and quite honestly, the internal life and drama of each person portrayed is so interesting, so much a raging tempest of emotional turmoil that one can do without the apparent lack of plot. Aren’t most of our lives like that? Fiction generally takes us into some unreal, often outrageous places and situations. It’s as if we need it to escape the dull humdrum existence that is life. Yet somehow Another Year is like peering into a microscope at some seemingly insignificant leaf or drop of water and seeing life teeming there. It seems that we are so blind to the beautiful simplicity of life as it really is that we need high drama and roller-coaster action to make a dent in our consciousness. A superb film.
So what is the captivating aspect of this film that quite simply moves through the four seasons in a quiet reflection of how time slips by? As I said, nothing really happens; or rather nothing happens directly to them. Tom’s brother Ronnie loses his wife, and the terrible grief of these scenes is positively palpable. Again, sitting in the movie theater I asked myself what was so compelling about this film. With virtually no plot—no action, no real drama, no special effects, no computer-generated gizmos, no car chases, no car crashes … we only hear about their neurotic friend Mary’s car troubles, we don’t see them—it can only be said that character, real living people drive this film.
The acting is sublime with characters such as their old friend Ken (Peter Wight), who visits from the North during the summer and masks an unhappy personal life with ample smoking, drinking and eating. His drunken behavior is totally cringe-worthy because we realize that we’ve all got friends like these. It is a tribute to the director that I felt as if I was watching real people; that somehow I had wandered into their lives by accident. I know and admire Jim Broadbent’s acting skills, but as Tom he was somehow not Jim Broadbent playing the part of Tom. He was Tom. From the moment I saw the opening scene of Tom and Gerri running through the rain from their front door to the car, with boxes of seedling and garden implements, I was hooked. I truly believed in the person called Tom and his wife called Gerri. Ditto for the remaining characters. The exquisite craftsmanship of the director draws the viewer into the situation so that by the time Mary (superbly played by Lesley Manville), their problematic friend, throws yet another tantrum related to her anxieties about ageing, you just want to throw her and her neuroses through the front door.
The film is made in unforgiving close-up, something I deeply admire the British acting fraternity for accepting as ‘part of the job.’ Most British films are characterized by a dearth of silicone and other cosmetic enhancements, minimal make-up, and plenty of real acting. The close-ups also reveal the inner soul of the characters and quite honestly, the internal life and drama of each person portrayed is so interesting, so much a raging tempest of emotional turmoil that one can do without the apparent lack of plot. Aren’t most of our lives like that? Fiction generally takes us into some unreal, often outrageous places and situations. It’s as if we need it to escape the dull humdrum existence that is life. Yet somehow Another Year is like peering into a microscope at some seemingly insignificant leaf or drop of water and seeing life teeming there. It seems that we are so blind to the beautiful simplicity of life as it really is that we need high drama and roller-coaster action to make a dent in our consciousness. A superb film.
The power of the film lies in its subtle, naturalistic storytelling, which allows the audience to become immersed in the characters' lives and experiences. Leigh's signature style, marked by its lack of a traditional narrative arc and its focus on the mundane details of everyday life, creates a sense of authenticity and emotional resonance.
At the heart of the film is the relationship between Tom and Gerri, whose contentment and stability serve as a stark contrast to the turmoil and unhappiness of their friends and family members. Their ability to find joy in the simple pleasures of life, such as gardening and sharing meals with loved ones, is both inspiring and poignant.
The film's final scene, in which the lonely and troubled Mary tries to reconnect with Tom and Gerri, is a powerful and heartbreaking moment that underscores the film's central themes of loneliness, acceptance, and the importance of human connection.
Overall, "Another Year" is a beautifully crafted and deeply moving film that explores the complexities of human relationships and the search for meaning and fulfillment in life. Leigh's masterful storytelling and the film's outstanding performances make it a must-see for fans of thoughtful, character-driven cinema.