Another Year

Another year, another 100 things to celebrate and mourn-and another film that makes me appreciate how good cinema can make me feel.

Although caring, cheerful and kind individuals feature prominently, with much to laugh about, Another Year is really about the emotionally bruised amongst us, about regret, about envy, and the fact that life is often cruel.

With its slow movement and at times painful portrayal of human wretchedness, it would be hard to imagine a less fun time at the movies than Another Year, but it would also be hard to imagine a more worthwhile one.

It is beautifully played, free of the usual tics and twitches and palsies that so often afflict Leigh characters, and Manville, in particular, gives everything she has, which turns out to be an awesome amount.

This turnaround isn't enough to completely salvage it, but it turns it from Leigh's worst film into an interesting, honorable failure.