Another Year ( Untitled Mike Leigh Project )

Another Year (DVD) (*)

~~$31.99~~ $25.97

Original Title: Untitled Mike Leigh Project
Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards
British Independent Film Awards
Oscar Academy Awards
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
English ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
125 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (2.35:1)

Special Features:
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Trailer(s)

Movie filmed in 2010 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Mike Leigh

Written By:
Mike Leigh

Actors:
Jim Broadbent ..... Tom
Lesley Manville ..... Mary
Ruth Sheen ..... Gerri
Oliver Maltman ..... Joe
Peter Wight ..... Ken
David Bradley ..... Ronnie
Martin Savage ..... Carl
Karina Fernandez ..... Katie
Michele Austin ..... Tanya
Philip Davis ..... Jack
Imelda Staunton ..... Janet
Stuart McQuarrie ..... Tom's Colleague
Eileen Davies ..... Mourner
Mary Jo Randle ..... Mourner
Ben Roberts ..... Mourner

Synopsis:

Class consciousness has frequently played a role in Mike Leigh's films, and not only because, as a storyteller whose native terrain is modern Britain, he can hardly hope to avoid it. And sure enough, the observant viewer of his splendidly rich and wise new feature, 'Another Year,' will notice the shadows that an always-evolving system of social hierarchy casts over the passage of the seasons. ('We're all graduates,' one character reminds another, with the prickly pride of belonging to the first generation to receive a university education in an era of expanded opportunity.) But in this movie, as in its immediate precursor, 'Happy-Go-Lucky,' Mr. Leigh is also after a more elusive and troubling form of injustice, one that is almost cosmically mysterious even as it penetrates, and sometimes threatens to poison, the relationships that make up everyday life. Like 'Happy-Go-Lucky,' though on a somewhat larger scale, 'Another Year' is about the unequal distribution of happiness. Why do some people - like Tom and Gerri, the post-'60s 60-something couple at the center of this episodic story - seem to have an inexhaustible, even superabundant supply, while others seem unable to acquire even the smallest portion? Can happiness be borrowed, stolen or inherited? Is it earned by meritorious works or granted by the obscure operations of grace? These may sound like silly, abstract questions, but they could hardly be more serious or more relevant. Here in America, after all, the pursuit of happiness has the status of a foundational right, coincident, but not quite identical, with material prosperity. In Britain, where dourness can seem to be as much a part of the stereotypical national character as bad food, foul weather and precise distinctions of status, the assertion of a right to be happy can seem almost revolutionary.

British filmmaker Mike Leigh delivers another emotionally honest portrait of ordinary people trying to make sense of their lives in this comedy drama. Tom (Jim Broadbent) and Gerri (Ruth Sheen) are a couple who are drifting past middle age into their sixties; he's a geologist and she's a psychotherapist. Tom and Gerri have a stable and happy marriage and a grown son, Joe (Oliver Maltman), an activist lawyer who hasn't settled down yet, much to his mother's chagrin. One of Gerri's co-workers and close friends is Mary (Lesley Manville), who puts up a facade of desperate good cheer despite the fact she's been very lonely since her husband left her and has been drowning her anxieties in wine. Gerri has unsuccessfully tried to fix Mary up with Tom's sloppy but good natured pal Ken (Peter Wight), and she's startled when Mary begins openly flirting with Joe, more than 20 years her junior. Mary's troubles only grow worse when she stops by Tom and Gerri's place only to be introduced to Katie (Karina Fernandez), Joe's new girlfriend.

Award winning director Mike Leigh (Vera Drake, Happy-Go-Lucky) collaborates once again with British acting heavyweights Jim Broadbent (Harry Potter, Bridget Jones), Lesley Manville (Vera Drake), Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake) and Ruth Sheen (Heartless) in his latest and best film to date. Another Year is a touching comedic drama which follows happily-married couple Tom and Gerri and their dysfunctional friends and family over four seasons; a grown son who can't seem to meet the right girl; an overweight friend; a depressive brother; and a lonely hard-drinking divorced co-worker.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 08 March, 2011.