Review of Another Year (2010) by Augustine H — 14 Apr 2014

One guarantee in Leigh's dramas is that the audience will receive fully multi-layered characters, as realistic and believable as people are in real life. For bringing such immaculate personifications on screen, you need a deep understanding of human psychology. Leigh manages to show his empathy and comprehension of these authentic human souls through a) extraordinary performances by either a leading role and some secondary characters, or b) great performances by the entire cast. Here, we have the first case, in which Lesley Manville's persona hides under what seems to be a film with an old couple as main characters. Nobody is a main character here if we exclude the fact that we are invited by the film to stay, talk and eat with Tom and Gerri (heh), who are surrounded by the rest of the people for an entire year.

Yet, Leigh always challenges his characters. Either he creates situations that unleash emotional explosions or catharsis, in which they are forced to nude their souls out of their needs to be heard and understood. That is why Winter is my favorite segment; that sequence engulfed the whole theater in silence and expectancy, the scene felt real and honest, the grey tones transmitted us the sadness, and the cold air could be breathed.

And so has passed another year: four more seasons of unpredictable events, funerals, family reunions, quarrels and golf matches, with an almost perfect screenplay that allowed a dialogue evolution in the most faithful tradition of Eric Rohmer.

83/100.