Another Year: A Lesson in Compassion

I have to confess a history of prejudice on my part against the work of Mike Leigh. I was in my early twenties when I watched my first Leigh film, Secrets and Lies. Watching that film was like fingernails on a chalkboard – particularly the persistent crying and whining of Brenda Blethyn’s character. I was determined to not let that particular film turn me off to the work of such a respected director. So I watched his previous film, Naked, and I had a similar negative response. But I still didn’t give up and watched his next film, Career Girls, which also left me feeling very underwhelmed. I just simply couldn’t find the value of his cinematic voice. All I could see and hear were loud, miserable and desperate people living rather hopeless lives. I skipped his next couple of films but decided to give Leigh another shot to win me over with Vera Drake – and he kind of succeeded. I liked the film quite a bit but considered it an anomaly. It wasn’t until my partner Nick wanted to discover for himself the films of Mike Leigh, and I got dragged along for the ride, that I started to appreciate Leigh’s work. His unique style of social-realist filmmaking struck a chord with me. I’m not sure why my response to his films changed but it did. Maybe I simply had been too immature and had not experienced enough of the world to be able to empathize with his characters. I see the world through different glasses now.

Another Year is Leigh’s most recent work. The film is character driven and there is an absence of any sort of traditional story. The activity centers on Tom and Gerri, a very happily married middle-aged couple. They are content with their lives and fulfilled by their careers as geologist and counselor. They enjoy working together in their community garden and have a grown son who actual loves them. As a result of the contentment they feel, they have become a magnet for lost and damaged souls. The film has four acts – Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. It ambles pleasurably through the four seasons of their joint life with a natural rhythm. These seasonal acts provide a thematic structure. In the film Tom and Gerri are seen busy planting, tending, and harvesting their garden through the course of a single year. They are also tending and nurturing the broken and lonely souls that are drawn to them. Tom and Gerri are not saints. At times their patience wears understandably thin, but they remain a constant force in the lives of their friends. They are unable to fix problems, but some problems can’t be fixed. However, Tom and Gerri are a sustainable constant for their friends just as they are for their garden. Even though not always completely warm and inviting, their friendship is steadfast. They always provide at least a minimal refuge which means everything for people who are so lonely and in such deep pain.

Leslie Manville plays Mary, a secretary in Gerri’s office, and her character is the gear that keeps the film moving. Manville’s interpretation of Mary is hands-down one of the best performances of the past year. Mary is not an easy character to watch yet I was drawn to her with fascination in every scene. She is a person who is terribly unhappy but is trying any way she can to break free – whether buying a car or looking for love by flirting with a younger man. There is a constant quiver in her voice. Even her nervous laughter seems to be a cry for help. She is filled with self-hatred and self-delusion but rather than feeling scorn for her, I actually felt some recognition. I have known people like Mary, and in fact, I recognized some of her insecurities as my own. There is a scene near the end of the film where Mary finds herself alone in Gerri and Tom’s house with Tom’s non-communicative brother. Within minutes, even within seconds, her face unravels into hope and hopelessness, despair and defeat, humility and gratitude. Manville’s performance is perfection.

Another Year is a film full of keen observations drawn from characters that are all too real. These characters are familiar to me. I could identify with them, love them and be appalled by them all at once. In their lives as in my own, I was reminded that some problems can’t be solved and that some emotional pain can’t be alleviated, but only managed. I felt genuine empathy for these people. This is a quiet, powerful, and compassionate film.