Movie – Another Year

After the disappointment of ‘The Kids are All Right’, I’m looking forward to a nice, sweet film with some quirky British humour.I got it with this Mike Leigh trademark production.On a side note, this is the sort of film that many Americans just don’t get; it’s not full of people who are young or particularly beautiful so there goes Hollywood. However, every character is interesting and the film has lots of good humour, despite an often grim story line.The story centres on a happy middle aged, middle class couple (Tom & Gerri – yes really) heading towards retirement. He an engineer (‘he digs holes’) and she a counsellor. The film opens with her counselling a depressed mother and I was fearful that the whole story will centre on this but it speedily moves to jollier moments.For one, they have been waiting for, their son, an only child to find a girlfriend and settle down. He looks like being a sad sap but soon becomes cool, with a new perfect girlfriend in tow.They find joy in their allotment every spare minute they get and in entertaining, particularly a single friend from the doctor’s office where the Gerri works.Then there are the downbeat moments such as when said single friend appears to lose the limited marbles she has and when they suffer an unexpected family bereavement.Jim Broadbent heads a fine cast as one half of the happy couple seemingly surrounded by singletons rather than other smug marrieds and dealing with life’s every day ups and downs in as jovial spirit as possible.I love it.Go see if you want to be shown how to be happy with your fantastic lot or to strive for more.8/10Smile factor 8½/10[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yypx-Tz8NzU&fs=1&hl=en_GB]