Another Year

Every once in a while a perfect movie comes along. They are few and far between and yes... this is one of them. Mike Leigh extracts from Lesley Manville the performance of her career. As you sit in the audience watching her you really do feel as if she is part of you. You laugh, you cry and you go through her emotions as you want things to work out for her character. We all know someone like her in our own lives and we can all sympathize and empathize with what she goes through. Leigh lives to make films about everyday slices of life. He has “borrowed” the season theme of this film from the Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu but instead of making the individual seasons in separate films (like Ozu) Leigh has amassed all 4 seasons into this one movie. He is a master of casting "everyday looking" people and you can't get much more into that mode than Jim Broadbent. You could swear that Leigh just set up a home video camera on Mr. Broadbent and let the tape record. Fitting into the casting superbly are Ruth Sheen, David Bradley and Peter Wight. They may portray ordinary looking folk but they are just so right for each of their roles. What can I say but NO glitz, NO glamour, NO Hollywood heart throbs... but OH... what a story! And isn’t that why people go to a movie in the first place? You may even feel drained by the end of the film... but you’ll be so happy you saw it. PS: This is what award ceremonies should be looking at. GO AND SEE IT!!!