This film is a massive bummer. I don't know why I expected other wise, this is after all a Mike Leigh film, Social Realism etc etc... I think it's the fact that the characters are smiling on the front of the DVD, but then again Sally Hawkins has a massive grin on her face on the cover for Happy-Go-Lucky, and that's also a big downer of a film. So yes, this film surprised me, and as gripes go, it's a minor one, as it's really my own fault for having unrealistic expectations...
So now I've got the criticism out the way, let's just say that this is a fantastic film. Yes, it's not a happy film, and it definitely left me feeling pretty down about everything, but the fact that it evoked such a response in me simply goes to show the power of the performances in the film and the story they played out. The plot is simple, it follows Tom and Gerri, a middle class married couple in London, and their Son, friends and other family, in particular Mary, who is seemingly in a perpetual state of confusion about her circumstances. As a film that's not really about very much it relies pretty heavily on the performances of the main cast, thankfully they are all fantastic. The level headed Ruth Sheen as Gerri, a counselor who finds herself acting as both a friend and a counselor to Mary, and others, and Jim Broadbent as Tom, a man who lives for his job, and seems like the perfect husband. In fact the two of them show amazing chemistry, while never really doing the lovey dovey thing, they encapsulate at least my idea of a perfect couple, playing off each other, comfortable in each others silence, and just blending together as one throughout the film.
The character with all the emotional baggage is Mary, who through the course of the year shown here, goes from someone with much bad luck who deals with it with a positive attitude and fresh plans, to someone with lots of bad luck who is struggling to cope with things as her problems pile up, and even her fantasy relationships get shattered. It's with Mary that much of the sadness lies, and whilst much of the attention lies with Ruth Sheen and Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville deserves just as much attention for her performance, as you can physically see her emotional journey through the film.
Mike Leigh's method of film making is an interesting one. In order to get realism in his films he trusts in the actors improvisations, based on their time spent researching the types of people they are going to be playing he isn't precious about a script, instead letting the actors find the voices for their characters and lets the plot develop itself. It's both an interesting and seems to be effective method as this film is indeed filled with a realism that isn't normally seen in films. The dialogue doesn't always flow perfectly, characters sometimes speak over each other, and there are other flaws too. But this isn't to the detriment of the film, In the same way that I found the realistic fight scenes in Haywire refreshing, so too is it refreshing for people in a film to be speaking in a way that you and your friends may be speaking.
In short this is a very strong film, it's a film that shows that Britain is still making great films and that even with Harry Potter gone from our screens our great actors will still be able to find good work as long as people like Mike Leigh continue to make films. Yes, the depressing ending took me off guard, but then it's like life, things aren't always as they seem, and sometimes, what looks like a wonderful opportunity can suddenly become a nightmare, and people who appear cheerful and full of hope are sometimes deeply hurting inside. Any film that can truly capture aspects of life like those is alright by me.
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