Allow me to be completely frank: Mike Leigh is a cinematic genius and has made some of the greatest films of all time. He is the filmmaker responsible for making the film that I consider quite possibly my personal favourite of all time (the astonishing Naked), and I have yet to encounter a film by Leigh that I do not appreciate or adore exceedingly. A film that I found quite extraordinary was Another Year, a film that sees Leigh making the kind of film that he does best: a film about individuals and the relationships that develop between people. Another Year features some of Leigh’s greatest collaborators giving some of their finest performances and allows Leigh the opportunity to explore humanity in the lovingly bleak warmth that he has developed so marvellously throughout his career. Another Year is a fantastic film, and not only is it one of the best films of the year in which it was released, it is one of the director’s most fascinating and endearing films and a careful reminder of his celestial talents as an artist.

Another Year is a return to the structure of the television plays that Leigh used to make earlier in his career, as well as his very early films, such as High Hopes and Meantime. The film is an episodic account of a year in the life of an elderly married couple, geologist Tom Hepple (Jim Broadbent) and his sympathetic wife, Gerri (Ruth Sheen), showing how they navigate the various challenges presented to them through the course of a single year, showing their lives from Spring to Winter, displaying their trials and tribulations, as well as their interactions with various characters, most notably Mary (Lesley Manville), the troubled friend and co-worker of Gerri, who becomes a focal point of the film through her own character arc that mirrors the central couple in some way. Throughout the course of a single year, nothing extraordinary happens, and there are moments of sheer joy and heartbreaking tragedy, all of which serve to reflect life accurately and to be a steadfast celebration of the nuances of humanity.

One element of Mike Leigh’s films that still bothers me to this very day is the fact that despite Leigh being one of my favorite filmmakers of all time, and having made some truly incredible films, I find it difficult to write about the films in a way that is meaningful, not because they are challenging films, but because they are so strong in their emotional strength, and resonate more as statements on life and existence rather than being films about a particularly storyline or narratives that progress towards a particular point. Some of Leigh’s films (such as Secrets & Lies and Vera Drake) do resemble films with straightforward narratives, but I have always found that Leigh does his best work when he is not trying to follow a specific progression, and rather allow his films to be independent and follow their own structure. There is a certain emotional heft to Leigh’s films, and Another Year seems to be amongst the very best of them, resonating as a hilarious and heartfelt comedy, as well as a heartbreaking, tragic drama, with the film oscillating effortlessly between the two genre polarities, being a stark and meaningful representation of life. There is just something extremely appealing about Another Year, a film that navigates its tonal complexities and becomes something undeniably powerful, moving and brilliant in every conceivable way.

I mentioned some of Leigh’s previous films, such as Meantime and High Hopes, and it certainly was not a throwaway comment, but rather something relevant to Another Year, a film (as mentioned previously) that does not adhere to conventional narrative structure, and rather unfolds as a series of episodic events in the lives of the characters and their intersecting interactions with friends, family and colleagues. Perhaps it is quite overt the way in which Leigh constructed Another Year as an episodic representation of life, setting it within a single year, and distinctively indicating the various seasons, each of which can be taken as an independent episode in the lives of the characters. The structure of Another Year is not entirely groundbreaking, and it has many familiarities with similar films, but for the most part, Leigh’s attempt to simply show the lives of Tom and Gerri, and their extended group of friends and family, was only bolstered by the fact that the film is nothing if not extremely realistic and honest, a brutally frank look at the lives of a set of individuals who are not particuarly notable, but in the context of Leigh’s extraordinary ability to construct something socially-relevant and perhaps quietely critical of the post-Thatcherist era (which not not an overt them in Another Year, with this being one of his most upbeat and endearing films, along the lines of Life is Sweet and Happy-Go-Lucky, although not as idiosyncratic and lovingly peculiar as those two), it works spectacularly well. Another Year is a mosaic of moments, showing intermittent moments in the life of some ordinary people, allowing the audience to be presented with a deeply-resonant, relentlessly honest portrait of life, filled with humour and heartbreak, and done in a way that Leigh has perfected. There are very few filmmakers who can attest to having such a precise grasp on the human spirit as Leigh, and he is constantly displaying his extraordinary understanding of the nuances of humanity through films like Another Year, a series of sporadic fragments that allow for a complete representation of the society in which the characters belong.

One of the most distinctive elements of a Leigh film is his inclusion of a regular ensemble of collaborators, most notably his cast. Another Year brings together some of Leigh’s finest collaborators, such as Jim Broadbent (who reprises a role very similar to the one he played in Life is Sweet, a dedicated and sensitive father and husband), and Ruth Sheen, who has her largest role in a Leigh film to date. The roles of the curiously-named Tom and Gerri required actors who were able to make an impact without demanding the scene, because despite being the major characters that drive this film forward, they are supposed to also serve as reactionary figures to the other characters, being the instruments through which they are able to project their own problems and insecurities. Broadbent and Sheen are effortlessly likeable, and their central performances in Another Year are tremendous. As individuals and as a couple, they are central characters that do not dominate the narrative, emphasizing how ordinary they are. Only two very endearing actors such as this duo would be able to make these roles, which are otherwise conventional and unremarkable, so endearing. They make an indelible impact but do so through their committed but restrained performances. Leigh is known for allowing his performers to create their characters and develop them through improvisation, which allows for some truly terrific, well-developed characters that are three-dimensional, complex and nuances, and more than anything else: undeniably realistic.

Moving beyond Broadbent and Sheen’s great central performances, Another Year soars because of its supporting cast. The film begins with the great Imelda Staunton (another of Leigh’s finest collaborators), playing Janet, a depressed and troubled woman. She only appears in two scenes, but still plays her part in the complex representation of life that this film manages to convey. Peter Wight (who memorably played Brian, the milquetoast security guard that falls victim to David Thewlis’ philosophical vagabond Johnny in Naked), has a sizeable role as Ken, Tom’s old friend who pays them a visit and is the subject of both adoration and ridicule from others. David Bradley works, surprisingly, with Leigh for the very first time, having the small but pivotal role of Ronnie, Tom’s recently-widowed older brother who struggles to come to terms with the tragedies life can often provide without permission. The cast is extremely strong, and to only praise them more, Broadbent and Sheen have splendid chemistry with every performer in the film, creating naturalistic, honest representations of human relationships. Mike Leigh does not merely direct actors – he works with them with dedicated collaboration to create nuanced, fascinating characters. Through the eyes of Tom and Gerri, we are introduced to a plethora of characters, each one with their own story and background that creates a complex tapestry of life and humanity. Even if a character, such as Staunton’s Janet, is not entirely present and only has a few moments in the film, there is some sense that they are fully-realized and realistic.

Yet, the rest of the supporting cast pales in comparison to one performer in particular: Lesley Manville. A reliable and endearing presence for years, Manville has been terrific in a countless number of performances, especially in some of Leigh’s other films. Yet, Another Year offers her the opportunity to play her greatest role yet. Her performance as Mary is utterly heartbreaking and unforgettable. Manville plays a woman on the verge of a breakdown, someone who conceals their problems in a steady stream of alcohol abuse and reckless spending. Mary has to be one of the most complex characters Leigh has ever created, a woman who remains optimistic and tries to see the silver linings that may not always be there, only to become even more broken and despondent. To say that Manville was a scene-stealer is a wildly inappropriate understatement – I’d even argue that Another Year is more about Mary than it is about Tom and Gerri, because even in scenes where Manville does not appear, her presence is felt, perhaps not merely as an individual, but the type of character she portrays, a lonely divorcee who is only searching for someone to love her. Every vulnerability and emotional detail is painfully felt through Manville’s astonishing performance. Her performance as a weak, helpless individual who tries to be strong and overcome the challenges life throws at her is simply staggering, and it is certainly one of the best performances in a Leigh film to date.

Another Year is such a great film. Leigh crafted something extraordinarily special, and deeply meaningful. It is a profoundly wonderful celebration of life, showing the joyful and tragic moments that we all doubtlessly experience at some point. A serene, meaningful film that does not attempt to be overly-complex or unnecessarily philosophical, but carries a strong message, and a palpable passion for humanity. Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen and especially Lesley Manville are incredible and make Another Year one of Leigh’s finest achievements, a quiet but passionate representation of life itself, in all its beauty. It is a terrific film and an astonishing achievement in reflecting humanity through all its flaws. Mike Leigh is an unadulterated genius, and one of our finest filmmakers working today, and one of the great artists of his generation, and Another Year is just another feather in his undeniably magnificent cap.