In the Spring, happily married Gerri, a medical counselor, and Tom, a geologist, tend their allotment. They entertain Gerri’s lonely work colleague Mary, who gets very drunk, and bemoans her disastrous love life. Gerri and Tom enjoy a warm relationship with their community lawyer son Joe, aged 30, who reports that although his friends are getting married, he is still without a partner.
In the Summer, Ken comes down to London to spend a weekend with Gerri and Tom. Ken works in a government employment office in Hull, and is Tom’s boyhood friend from their native Derby. He gets very drunk, and bemoans his tragic, lonely life. The next day, while Gerri celebrates the sunshine at the allotment, Tom, Ken, Joe and a neighbor enjoy a game of golf. A barbeque party follows. Mary arrives late and flustered in her newly-acquired second-hand car. She is frosty towards an innocently amorous Ken, and flirtatious in an urgent and serious way towards Joe, her junior by a generation.
In the Autumn, Gerri and Tom return home from the allotment to enjoy a pleasant surprise from Joe. He has hidden his new partner Katie behind a door. Katie is an occupational therapist, and Gerri and Tom like her immediately. But Mary, who has already been invited to tea, is instantly jealous and hostile towards Katie, and behaves very rudely. Although they all sympathize with her car troubles, Mary’s behavior towards Katie leaves a bad odor with the good-natured Gerri and Tom.
In the Winter, Gerri, Tom and Joe drive up to Derby for the funeral of the wife of Tom’s elder brother, Ronnie. Ronnie’s aggressive, estranged son Carl arrives late at the crematorium. Back at Ronnie’s house, Carl is confrontational with his father, and with Tom and Joe; he causes other mourners to leave suddenly, and then stomps off in a rage. Gerri and Tom bring Ronnie back to London. Whilst they are at the allotment, Mary shows up at the house unannounced, and in a fraught state. She drinks tea and smokes cigarettes with a bemused Ronnie.
On their return, Gerri and Tom are far from pleased to see Mary, especially as Joe is due to arrive with Katie for a family dinner. But after Mary has broken down apologetically, Gerri invites her to stay, albeit reluctantly. At the dinner table, while Gerri and Tom reminisce about the round-the-world back-packing days of their youth, and Katie and Joe look forward to their impending trip to Paris, Ronnie quietly enjoys his beer and his dinner and Mary faces the sad emptiness of her passing life.
Another Year is a 2010 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh, starring Lesley Manville, Jim Broadbent, and Ruth Sheen. It premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival in competition for the Palme d’Or. The film was shown at the 54th London Film Festival before its general British release date on 5 November 2010. At the 83rd Academy Awards, Mike Leigh was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Another Year (2010)
Directed by: Mike Leigh
Starring by: Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen, Peter Wight, Oliver Maltman, Karina Fernandez, Michele Austin, Phil Davis, Imelda Staunton, Eileen Davies, Mary Jo Randle
Screenplay by: Mike Leigh
Production Design by: Simon Beresford
Cinematography by: Dick Pope
Film Editing by: Jon Gregory
Costume Design by: Jacqueline Durran
Set Decoration by: Sophia Chowdhury
Art Direction by: Andrew Rothschild
Music by: Gary Yershon
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some language.
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Classics
Release Date: December 29, 2010
