collider.com

collider.com

After tending to their vegetable garden and sharing a warm cup of tea, Tom and Gerri Happle go home to fill their wine glasses and cook a hearty dinner. Occasionally, they invite friends, or their son Joe, to break bread with them. Through thick and through thin, from winter to spring, the London couple is the picture of domestic bliss.

This is the basic premise of Another Year, the latest film to come from acclaimed British director and writer Mike Leigh (Vera Drake, Topsy-Turvy). Set in a middle-class London neighbourhood, the film traces one unremarkable year in the life of Tom (Jim Broadbent) and Gerri (Ruth Sheen)—not a reference to the cat and mouse—a happily married couple well into their autumn years. Although their lives move throughout the months without a glitch, the people around them are not quite as fortunate: Mary (Leslie Manville)—a frequent, though not always welcome guest—is a single, middle-aged secretary with a drinking problem and a knack for falling in love with men who are either unavailable or too young, while Ken (Peter Wright), Tom’s overweight childhood friend, suffers from serious depression and a likely case of emphysema.

What makes this movie so compelling is not the action or the drama—in fact almost nothing happens during the film’s two hours—but rather the beauty with which the camera treats the backdrop and the characters. Leigh, known for what critics have labelled “kitchen-sink realism”—a slice-of-life approach that emphasizes the family and the domestic space—focuses on human emotion, the nuances of facial expression, and the essentially banal conversations in which people engage. By breaking the year into four very distinct seasons, the film not only benefits from the varying landscapes, but is also able to symbolically represent the ups and downs of human life; babies are born, old people die, and life goes on as usual. Aside from the visibly changing outdoor setting, the film reads much like theatre: the sets are limited, the cast is small, and the drama is focused and specific.

This realist approach is made possible by the incredibly talented cast of seasoned actors. Broadbent, a long-time staple of British cinema, embodies old, English virtue in his portrayal of Tom. Even during Mary’s drunken rants, Tom is willing to humour and engage her, always with a knowing twinkle in his eye. Ruth Sheen’s Gerri is sympathetic and wise; as Gerri is both a loving matriarch and a hospital therapist, Sheen captures the tender yet stern nature of her character. Finally, as Mary, Leslie Manville manages to ring true—if a little too true—to life. Though Mary is continually plagued by misfortune, she gets up and skittishly assures herself, and everyone else, that once she buys a car or takes a vacation, everything will be OK.

While the film contains indubitable merit, it does draw a slightly ambiguous line between misfortune and missed opportunity. It begins to feel like a morality tale, bidding the viewer to recognize “good” and “bad” life choices. Tom and Gerri are kind and welcoming, but the disparity between their own virtuous life and the clear mistakes of their friends leaves them appearing ultimately smug and somewhat difficult to relate to. When Mary laments that married men don’t wear a sign that says “Don’t fall in love with me, I’m married,” Tom remarks, “I think it’s called a ring.” Rejecting men like Ken for superficial reasons, the film implies that Mary’s loneliness, as well as her tragic financial woes, are entirely her own doing. Similarly, watching Ken guzzle a pint of beer, Gerri bemoans that “life can often be cruel,” but there seems to be an implicit criticism of Ken for resorting to cigarettes and alcohol in response to his depression. Whereas Tom and Gerri are classic exemplars of how to live “the good life”—they are faithful to one another, they have respectable jobs, they raised a good-natured son, and they tend to their Eden-like garden—people like Ken and Mary seem to have brought on their tragic fates through misplaced values and life mismanagement.

Against the backdrop of the Happles’ old British values is a notably new London. Joe is an immigration lawyer whose secretary wears a hijab, and Ken makes a few remarks like, “Nowadays, instead of going out for a beer, people go out for a curry,” and, “The pubs are becoming bars.” Although Another Year zeroes in on the lives of aging white Britons, the film is carefully placed in a distinctly new and multicultural idiom. As Tom reads a book on the history of London and notes that history has never seemed so relevant, he demonstrates that while contexts are always changing, good old values still persist.

poptower.com

poptower.com

Episodes

While its concept sounded great, the Episodes pilot is not as exciting and hilarious as it should have been. The show, starring Matt LeBlanc of Friends  fame and some Brits, plays off a familiar Hollywood theme: taking a British comedy hit and bringing it over to America. Last spring’s previews were promising, and included a scene of LeBlanc having to audition for the role of himself. Unfortunately, what looked good in the previews wasn’t included in the pilot. Instead, the first episode slowly brings two British writers to Los Angeles, and follows their adventures and the strange behaviour of their new studio associates. This episode was definitely missing screen time from LeBlanc, and sitting through it was slightly torturous. The blogosphere seems to be giving the show praise, so it never hurts to give it a second chance, but the pilot certainly failed to impress.

Parks & Recreation

After being held back as a mid-season replacement by NBC, Parks & Recreation has made a hilarious return to primetime TV. Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) is back in full swing, rounding up her co-workers to get back to the Parks department of the small, fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. The first episode of the third season deals with the Pawnee government going back to work after being shut down months earlier (a coincidental parallel with the show itself being shelved for half the year). If you have yet to give this show a chance, please do. This season, new additions Adam Scott and Rob Lowe promise to round out an already great comedic cast who all play off each other in their own quirky ways. Although the first season may have started off rocky, the show found its groove last year and it’s now time to board the Parks & Rec train. The show is no longer about a government lady trying to turn a pit into a park; it’s got everything it needs to start contending with critically acclaimed NBC buddies 30 Rock and The Office. 

Californication

   It’s clear from the start of season four of Showtime’s hit series Californication that all is not well for everyone’s favourite dysfunctional writer. The first scene of the premiere shows Hank Moody (David Duchovny) being picked up from jail by none other than his agent/best friend Charlie Runkle. The bailout is followed by some interesting plot developments, including Hank’s relationship with an actress and some other normal Californication shenanigans (sex, drugs, and alcohol). After months of waiting, fans of the show will get what they love, along with some promising new storylines for the upcoming season. For those who have yet to catch this show, don’t even think of starting with the current season. Backtrack, catch up, and dive into Moody’s past because it’s an entertaining one. The show’s season premiere brings even more trouble for Hank, who has yet to make up with his loved ones, including his ex-wife and daughter, which may force him to make a change in his lifestyle. Showtime certainly has faith in the fourth season of Californication; they have already renewed it for a fifth and Moody shows no signs of slowing down.