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Another Year

Another Year

Mike Leigh

  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Year: 2010
  • Language: English
  • Producer: Georgina Lowe
  • Executive Producer: Gail Egan, Tessa Ross
  • Screenplay: Mike Leigh
  • Runtime: 129
  • Programmes:

A happily married, middle-aged couple are visited by a number of unhappy and lonely friends who use them as confidantes. When an unmarried friend falls for their young son, they watch as events unfold. The film stars Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen, Peter Wight, Oliver Maltman, David Bradley, Karina Fernandez and Martin Savage.

Drama,  Comedy,  Family Relations,  United Kingdom

screening times

    • Monday September 13
    • 6:00:00 PM
    • VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN)
    • Tuesday September 14
    • 2:30:00 PM
    • AMC 4

Note: indicates Premium Screening.

official description

Another Year marks a change of sorts in Mike Leigh’s illustrious and distinctive career. His work has always been based around a wicked and acute sense of social observation that employs an unforgiving gaze to explore the neuroses of families or individuals. At the centre of many of his films is a restless protagonist, angrily flailing against the world. In Another Year – a wry and affectionate character study of a mostly middle-aged group of people– Leigh stands this structure on its head, focusing on a happily married, completely grounded couple who soak up the frustrations and unhappiness of friends and family alike.

Husband and wife Tom and Gerri (perhaps cheekily named after the cartoon characters) lead blissful lives. They are deeply content in their relationship and satisfied with their careers; Tom (Jim Broadbent) is a geological engineer and Gerri (Ruth Sheen) a counselor. They are secure people whose outlet is the small market garden that they tend with loving care, come rain or shine.

Dividing his film into chapters based on the four seasons, Leigh structures his film around a series of encounters that feel almost Rohmerian. Friends and family drop by, occupy centre stage as they unload their problems and then exit, only to have their stories picked up as the film moves into another season. Humour is never far from the surface of any Mike Leigh film, but the mood here is more complex, revolving around Tom and Gerri’s close friend, the fidgety and flighty Mary (Lesley Manville), a beauty past her prime who is still on the hunt for a mate. When her eyes settle on Gerri’s unsuspecting grown-up son, the story twists and turns in surprising odd and directions.

Another Year is a deeply absorbing look at a couple who seem to have gotten it right and a bunch of people who haven’t – and a son that could go either way! Leigh’s grip on the material is unfailingly confident and his actors all deliver highly charged and beautifully shaded performances.

Another Year is a deeply absorbing look at people who have arrived at a point in their lives where happiness has been achieved by some but not by others.

Piers Handling

director bio

Mike Leigh was born in Salford, Lancashire and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Camberwell, the Central Art Schools in London and the London Film School. He is renowned for his improvisational approach to creating a story in conjunction with his cast and has received numerous awards, including Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival for Naked (93), the Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for Secrets & Lies (96) and six Academy Award®nominations. His other films include: Bleak Moments (71), High Hopes (88), Life is Sweet (91), Topsy-Turvy (99), All or Nothing (02), Vera Drake (04), Happy-Go-Lucky (08) and Another Year (10).

full credits

Principal Cast: Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen, Peter Wight, Oliver Maltman, David Bradley, Karina Fernandez, Martin Savage
Producer: Georgina Lowe
Executive Producer: Gail Egan, Tessa Ross
Cinematographer: Dick Pope
Editor: Jon Gregory
Sound: Nigel Stone
Music: Gary Yershon
Production Designer: Simon Beresford

Canadian Distributor: Mongrel Media  
International Sales Agent: Focus Features International
Production Company: Thin Man Films Ltd.
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