a review of 又一年

I was very interested in Another Year when I discovered it was directed by Mike Leigh, who once made a lasting impression on me with Naked. Another Year very convincingly portrays the life of a family and their friends. There is no real beginning or end, just an extensive snapshot of intertwined lives and social interaction. The characters in Another Year feel authentic and familiar. We all have at least one family member and/or friend who has trouble finding love and peace in his/her life. Mary (Lesley Manville) is the star of the show in my humble opinion, establishing a character that starts off as whimsical and tiresome, but you start to feel more and more for her as her suppressed sadness surfaces. The only reason I didn't rate Another Year higher than 4 out of 5 stars is that everyday life can be boring, and so were some parts of the film to me. But this didn't spoil a fine piece of storytelling.