--- title: "Another Year: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/another-year/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/another-year" critics_score: 80 critics_reviews: 15 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Another Year (2010): what the critics said Critics' score 80 from 15 reviews: 13 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics like Another Year a great deal, and the praise is unusually consistent. Thirteen of the fifteen reviews are positive, none negative. The reviews single out Leigh’s restraint: a film built around seasonal gatherings and everyday trivia rather than plot, which many find more mature and quieter than his earlier work. The ensemble draws the warmest words, with Broadbent and Sheen praised for their naturalism and Lesley Manville’s needy, half-aware Mary named again and again as the film’s tragicomic centre. The reservations are few and mild. Several reviews note that the film takes time to build and offers no narrative hook, though most count that as the point rather than a fault. Slant finds the story lovingly told but not nuanced enough, and The New Yorker, the most reserved voice, finds the tone resigned, the close-ups intrusive and some characters easy to shrug off. The spread is narrow; nobody dislikes it. ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 5/5. 2 November 2010. Leigh's most mature work observes a happily married couple over a year with wisdom, restraint and cyclical contemplation that sets it apart from his more energetic earlier films. The stellar ensemble, led by Broadbent, Sheen and Manville, brings authenticity and quiet devastation to questions of caring, loneliness and family. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/another-year) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 October 2010. The critic highlights the film's subtle, event-light structure centered on seasonal gatherings and everyday trivia, which reveals profound emotional depths through embarrassment and character interactions. Lesley Manville's vivid, tragic performance as the needy Mary stands out as a knockout amid strong ensemble work. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/another-year-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 29 December 2010. The critic praises the film as an extraordinary examination of everyday life and human psychology by a master filmmaker, highlighting the depth and naturalism of the performances by Broadbent, Sheen, and Manville. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-dec-29-la-et-another-year-20101229-story.html) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 4 November 2010. Mike Leigh delivers another intimate ensemble drama about ordinary people with richly rewarding results. The film follows a contented middle-aged couple whose home attracts lost souls, with Lesley Manville's needy Mary singled out as a standout tragicomic creation. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/nov/04/another-year-film-review) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. The piece praises the superbly modulated performances from Leigh regulars and the story's multiple layers of subtlety and meaning beneath its slight surface. It singles out Lesley Manville's memorable portrait of a vulnerable, half-aware failure as the standout element. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/swirls-of-mike-leigh-in-another-year-7419907.html) ## Little White Lies — Jonathan Crocker Rating 3/4/4. 4 November 2010. Leigh delivers a quietly brilliant, talky portrait of a middle-aged couple whose stable marriage contrasts with the struggles of those around them. The performances, especially from Broadbent, Sheen and Manville, and the sensitive direction stand out for their naturalism and emotional truth. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/another-year) ## Sight and Sound — Geoff Andrew Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. The film takes time to build but ultimately soars as an honest portrait of loneliness, pain, anger and ageing among a married couple and their circle. Leigh's direction and the ensemble cast deliver compassionate, authentic moments that make it one of his strongest works. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/exclusive/cannes-2010-aurora.php) ## Variety — Leslie Felperin Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 May 2010. Festival review. The critic calls it arguably Leigh's tautest and most likable effort since 'Secrets and Lies,' noting its gentle juxtaposition of everyday issues like loneliness and kindness through strong ensemble chemistry. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2010/film/markets-festivals/another-year-1117942761/) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 30 September 2010. Leigh’s film is a lovingly told but insufficiently nuanced story of four seasons in the lives of a happy couple and their miserably single friends. It singles out the warm, forgiving embrace between characters as a heartfelt lesson reflecting kindly on the director. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/another-year/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 10 January 2011. The critic finds the film notably sorrowful and resigned in its portrayal of middle-aged lives, with strong performances from the leads but ultimately views the intrusive close-ups and some characters as grating or easy to shrug off. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/01/17/unhappy-days) ## Digital Spy — Stella Papamichael Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 October 2010. Festival review. The critic calls it a heartrending study of loneliness and growing old alone, highlighting Mike Leigh's wily humour and Lesley Manville's comic yet tragic performance as the lonely, desperate Mary. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/bfi-london-film-festival/a282484/another-year/) ## Paste — Tim Basham Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 28 January 2011. The critic finds the film wonderful for its study of ordinary lives and social behavior through strong ensemble acting. Lesley Manville's performance as the desperate Mary stands out as one of the year's best. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/another-year-review) ## The Skinny — Jamie Dunn Rating ★★★★. 29 October 2010. The critic describes a bitterly funny tale of sadness and frustration centred on a content middle-aged couple whose happiness fails to rub off on their lonely, envious friends, praising the note-perfect cast. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/another-year) ## Eye for Film — Anton Bitel Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 16 October 2010. Leigh contrasts the quiet contentment of a loving older couple with the loneliness and discontent of those around them, using the changing seasons to frame questions about the nature of human happiness. Ensemble performances bring the low-key tragicomic episodes to life in a timeless exploration of life's highs and lows. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/reviews.php?film_id=19206) ## HeyUGuys — Simon Gallagher Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 16 May 2010. Festival review. The film is a typical Mike Leigh slice-of-life drama focused on character portraits rather than plot, following a contented middle-aged couple and their struggling friends and family over the course of a year. Standout performances, especially by Lesley Manville and Jim Broadbent, make it another winner despite the lack of narrative hook. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/heyuguys-at-cannes-2010-another-year-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/another-year.md