Review of Another Year (2010) by Leighton T — 26 Dec 2011

Mike Leigh is a master and he just keeps getting better and better. This is an intimate look into the lives of a particular group of people and how each are living their lives through the four seasons in one year (in that, showing the seasons in which their lives are in). The subtle, real, humanistic acting of Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen (great, unshowy work) allows a powerhouse performance of talking and mannerisms from Lesley Manville who easily turns in one of the best performances of 2010. The moment when she finally stops talking is "that moment" in the film; it is the best scene in the entire two hours.

What we have in Another Year is not just about the march towards death (as with the last act), but about how we're spending our lives as we head down that path. Are we happy with who we are? And if we're not, who's the biggest culprit? Mike Leigh's brilliance is that he asks such big questions in such quiet ways. If you look away for a second, you've missed maybe a whole myriad of points he's trying to make.