I don't know if Another Year was meant to simply be a study in contrasts, a character study or just high art. The film looks at life through a rather narrow lens, exploring a variety of emotions and personalities without a strong tether holding the elements together.
Tom (Jim Broadbent) and Gerri (Ruth Sheen) are environmentally conscious Brits who appear to have a happy, loving relationship. Gerri works as a therapist and seems stuck plying her trade even when she is at home. Tom pokes holes in the ground. More accurately, he works as a geologist who studies core samples to determine the feasibility of construction projects. The couple love to cook, garden and entertain a host of odd people.
Tom and Gerri have a thirty-year-old son, Joe (Oliver Maltman) whose marital clock seems to be ticking. Gerri's long-time friend (co-worker) seems very lonely and has an eye on the unhitched Joe. Mary is incredibly eccentric, overtly lonely and frighteningly erratic. Her desperation becomes a central theme in the story. The characters interact over the course of the four seasons, which seem to revolve around the stages of work that Tom and Gerri undertake in their small garden.
If I were to describe this film in basic terms, it felt thrown together. The characters were intriguing, but it almost felt like a checklist. Okay, which emotions should we include? Anger, Bitterness, Loneliness, Happiness, Security, Insecurity, Loss, Sorrow, Excitement, Disappointment. Okay, next, what cycles of life should we include? Birth, Death, Engagement, Marriage, Divorce. The entire process felt like more of a list of average experiences tossed into a plot that was intentionally nothing more than what average people might see in the course of a year. The problem was, it felt like real time. The film plods along because it has no broader story-lines. Or, at least, the broader themes are concepts that aren't developed and explored.
The writing made the story result in a somewhat boring tale of humdrum life. The addition of the eccentric Mary added what little spice the film had, adding an X-factor that breathed some life into the film. However, the Mary angle was left unfulfilled in my mind. The dialogue was interesting, but felt stilted at times. The biggest problem with the writing was the awkward pacing and lack of substance. Those were issues that made the interesting characters and overall concept seem like a waste. <
What Another Year did deliver was flawless casting. Manville was awesome as Mary. The role must have been tiring for her. Mary's dialogue was often erratic and rambling. While that might initially seem like an easy endeavor, I am sure it required incredible concentration. Forcing yourself to seem disjointed while delivering extensive rambling dialogue has to present difficult challenges. Manville seemed to complete the task effortlessly. She was amazing. Broadbent, Sheen and Maltman were all excellent. I would almost refer to their performances as strong supporting roles for Manville the way this film ended up coming off. I was impressed with the acting in spite of the other flaws.
I may be in the minority with this film, but my enjoyment was tempered by the horrible pacing. Another Year had some positive aspects, such as the incredible performances. But the contrived effort to add specific events and emotions along with the inevitable boredom I felt at times made this film merely average in my mind. It was fresh, but only in the sense that it didn't follow a formula. I would still recommend this film...with a very mild 6/10. IMDb is far more generous at 7.3/10.
