Another Year (2010)

* may contain spoilers*One of the most judgmental , black-and-white thinking, uncompassionate films I have ever seen. The characters are divided into 'good' and 'bad' - the capacity to investigate beyond appearances seems to be beyond the writers , who seem more interested in labeling than in any in depth understanding of human nature. I felt so sorry for Mary in this film. The Marys of this world can be annoying, yes, but things happen to people and they turn out like that. Sometimes people are not strong enough to carry their burdens , either because they were born weaker or they didn't find a steady hand when they needed it. Where is the compassion here? Mary is presented like some kind of scapegoat, the one who does everything wrong and the one that the viewers are INVITED to rally against.The couple is too perfect to exist- so that Mary's behavior is contrasted.If Tom and Gerri were authentic they would have gently confronted her and expressed how they felt.Instead they displayed polite indifference until she crossed the line - which was evident that she would at some point, since she was in a desperate fragile state. If they cared for Mary they would have helped her realize what she is doing to annoy them and set some boundaries.If they didn't care about her they should be honest and cut her off from the start.It was quite evident she was unstable - and for a professional therapist like Gerri it should be evident from the very beginning. They knew where they were getting into. She wasn't just a friend they met who appeared normal and happy in the beginning and then changed. The indifferent hypocrisy ,the lack of authenticity , the absence of any exchange of true feelings and honest thoughts (except behind Mary's back) made this film difficult to watch. The characters lacked the depth that would make them human and the scapegoating mentality of the writer really bothered me.

I'm not giving this a 10 rating for a couple of reasons. With all due respect, I love Mike Leigh's work and Another Year is a great flick, without a doubt. Realistic, about lonely, desperate, hurting people and on the other side of the spectrum, it's about a well-educated, seemingly happy, financially-sound couple who entertain a lot and never lacked for WINE and BEER in their household.I have a few gripes to mention and then I'll get off my soap box and go on with my life! Imelda Staunton's character met with her female doctor and outright told her she was not sleeping well. Now this female doctor obviously asked the usual questions, are you depressed, how is 'husband', etc., any changes in your life! Yea, there are changes in my life, doc! I'm going through the change! Then the doc proceeds to tell this poor woman she needed to see a counselor, knowing that Janet was in her menopause! Say what? Give me a break! Does the word Menopause mean anything to these dense doctors! Sleep was good before my menopause but as soon as it hit me, I had trouble sleeping as well and told my doctor thus and she in turn told me that I may need counseling and that it could all be in my head. Needless to say, I dropped her like a hotcake, and found another doctor who said it was just that, menopause/hormonal. But here is poor Janet pleading to this doctor, "I can't sleep. I need you to give me something for that, doc!" Nothing can be more annoying or depressing then to be told that it's all in your head! Then it's time to find another doctor! Needless to say, Ms. Staunton portrayed that character extremely well! And her counseling session with Gerri, sad as it may have been, was rather comical in a way as well.Then we have Ruth Sheen's character--Gerri, who is seemingly kind and loving and caring and invites Mary to her home for dinner or BBQ each season to tell her, long story short, that she needs independent professional help. Yes, Mary, a woman most likely in her 40's, single who is annoying at times, a dreamer, desperate, lonely, depressed but the last thing she wanted to hear is that she is accountable for her own actions. How self-righteous can one be! Have another glass of wine, Mary! Plus Gerri often rolled her eyes to others when Mary was around. Why bother inviting the poor woman if you feel that way? I just felt Gerri just tolerated Mary. However, Mary was indeed extremely needy and clung to her like a leech. I didn't like the fact that toward the end Mary took liberties in Tom and Gerri's household by assuming that they would not notice the cigarette smell in their home. And, too, dropping by their home soon after the funeral without letting them know in advance that she was coming. Tom and Gerri have one son, Joe, who is what they called, a dark horse--single, in his 30's but does finally get a girlfriend, who is a 'happy-go-lucky', pun intended, friendly chick and a vegan at that! LOL!Gerri had invited Mary to dinner one day and once there they offered her some wine, which was no lack thereof in that household, I can tell you that! Mary was encouraged by her to spend the night as she drank herself into a stupor and was not fit to travel home. Very wise on Gerri's part.Ken, a middle-aged, single man who is Tom and Gerri's close friend, is another lonely, desperate, depressed soul who is invited I believe for the weekend this time--food and lots of drink once again! I swear they drank so much wine at one sitting, more than I ever drink in a year's time! But food and drink was plentiful. I did love the ambiance and coziness of their home; and the fact that they had an allotment garden that they tended until harvest time. Then you have Tom's deadbeat brother, Ronnie, who I found to be a cold fish and a selfish man. I gathered that he really didn't love his wife, who had just passed on. He had a son, Carl, who hardly visited him,(and who always wore black even as a kid); a bitter, rebellious, aggressive, discontented man who did not get along with his father, and tried to avoid him as much as possible.I was quite impressed with the characters and how they were portrayed by these exceptional actors. The camera shots were exceptional. Mr. Leigh is well-known for capturing an actor's every expression to perfection.The ending was rather a sad one. I shudder to think, though, that Mary and Ronnie could ever be a twosome!There you have it!

"Mike Leigh miserabilism" is definitely a thing—my fearless, insomniac wife warned me about "All or Nothing," the one with Timothy Spall as a bummed-out cabdriver—but "Another Year" is a different story. True, three of the main characters appear to be clinically depressed, one virtually catatonic after the death of his wife, but the film is really about Tom and Gerri, a well-matched, well-adjusted couple in their 60s trying to deal with their friends' (or in Tom's case, brother's—the catatonic one's) impending collapse. The Leigh technique of guided improvisation and many, many runthroughs really makes the big ensemble scenes work; Leslie Manville as self-absorbed, self-medicating Mary is the standout here, though I was grateful for a less fraught scene in which T and G's son turns up with a talkative new girlfriend (she was the fiery flamenco teacher in "Happy-Go-Lucky") and the four of them just have a lively conversation. Interesting that the sane, happy characters all have fulfilling public-sector jobs—psychiatric social worker, physical therapist, legal aid lawyer; Tom's helping to redesign the London sewer system. Jim Broadbent, who plays him, is delightful as always (unless you count "Cloud Atlas"), and though this one may not have the intensity of Leigh's best work, it really connects on an emotional level. Available on disk from Netflix.

OK, I go to film festivals, I had my share of artsy films, multi-layered films, meaning-of-life films, Scandinavian films - and I found something interesting, worth thinking about, worth talking about in most of them. Well, this film has nothing in it. Just a bunch of uninteresting people exchanging platitudes and coming up with revelations about life such as: it's depressing to be single, getting old is not much fun, alcohol does not solve one's problems...The characters lack, well, character; one cannot like them or dislike them. You cannot pity them; you cannot admire them. They are banal. All the people who gave this film good ratings owe me $2.99 - the video rental price - and 2 hours of my life.