Mike Leigh studies loneliness, at funereal pace

Mike Leigh'sThe Wire Box Set 1-5 latest slice-of-British-life picture is titledWeeds DVD Box Set "Another Year,"Supernatural DVD and many viewers will be grateful it's just the one.

Film

Acutely observed but gloomy and lacking narrative, Weeds DVD Box Setit tells of 12 months in the life of a decent but dull suburban couple and their friends,The Wire DVD Box Set most of whom you would go out of your way to avoid at a party.

The veteran British Archer DVD Box Setdirector draws typically skillful performances from his cast of mostly regulars, Supernatural DVDand there are fine contributions from cinematographer Dick Pope and composer Gary Yershon.Archer DVD Box Set It's a sedate film without drama that festival juries could well fall in love with, The Wire DVD Box Setbut moviegoers might decide that their own brand of misery is quite sufficient,The Wire Box Set 1-5 thanks.

International box office will rely on Leigh's admirers,Weeds DVD Box Set and it will be a tough go in his homeland with austerity measuresThe Unit DVD Box Set under the new government about to make people gloomy enough already.

There's no doubting Leigh's sympathy for the lonely and unhappy Spartacus: Blood And Sand DVD Box Setcharacters depicted in the film, The Unit Complete DVD Box Setbut while he and his talented cast do their best to suggest they are worthy of attention,The Wire Box Set 1-5 it's not easy to see especially why.The Unit DVD Box Set Divided into the four seasons, Supernatural DVDthe year depicted includes a birth, a funeral and expectations of a wedding,Archer DVD Box Set but the title itself makes no promise of excitement.The Wire DVD Box Set Pope's images of the changing weather are among the films pleasures,Weeds DVD Box Set along with Yershon's elegant score for string quintet,Supernatural DVD which complements Leigh's use of lingering close-ups.

Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen play happily married Tom and Gerri,Spartacus: Blood And Sand DVD Box Set who lead industrious lives at work and at home.Supernatural DVD He's an engineering geologist,The Unit DVD Box Set and she's a medical counselor,Archer DVD Box Set and their 30-year-old son, Joe (Oliver Maltman), is a community lawyer.The Wire DVD Box Set They tend their piece of vegetable garden at the local allotments, read and worry about the environment, The Unit DVD Box Setand cook dinners for friends and family.

These include Mary, Supernatural DVDa secretary at Gerri's clinic, Weeds DVD Box Setwho drinks too much, talks too much and usually overstays her welcome. The Unit Complete DVD Box SetLesley Manville brings this sad and rather desperate character to life in a performance that will garner considerable acclaim. The Wire DVD Box SetShe pitches Mary's voice to match her degree of giddiness,The Unit Complete DVD Box Set anxiety and need, The Wire DVD Box Setand shows a mastery of facial expression that conveys her gradual Spartacus: Blood And Sand DVD Box Setawareness that she has allowed life to pass her by.

Another friend, Ken (Peter Wight),Supernatural DVD overweight, Weeds DVD Box Setdrunken and divorced,The Wire DVD Box Set is in a similar plight and while Gerri and Tom show concern and tolerance, The Unit DVD Box Setthey have little to offer either of them much by way of concrete help.Archer DVD Box Set Other Leigh veterans including Imelda Staunton The Unit Complete DVD Box Setand Phil DavisSpartacus: Blood And Sand DVD Box Set show up in small roles and,The Unit Complete DVD Box Setlike the wonderful stage actor David Bradley as Tom's bereaved brother,Weeds DVD Box Set they are gifted in using silence and nuanced tones to deliver Leigh's cryptic lines.

Broadbent Supernatural DVDand Sheen bring a sly touch of smugness to the apparently contented but quite boring central couple, Weeds DVD Box Setand perhaps Leigh intends them to be not quite as nice as they appear. The Wire Box Set 1-5Late in the film, The Unit Complete DVD Box Setan angry and disaffected nephew named Carl makes a brief but striking appearance. The Unit DVD Box SetPlayed with focused intensity by Martin Savage, Spartacus: Blood And Sand DVD Box Sethe's only on screen for a couple of scenes but when he departs in a temper, Supernatural DVDit's tempting to ask the director,The Wire DVD Box Set would he mind terribly if we went with him?