It follows a year in the life of an older couple who have been happily married for a long time, making them an anomaly among their friends and family members.

It grossed $20 million worldwide and received positive reviews from critics, who praised Leigh's screenplay and the performances of the cast (particularly Manville).

Towards the end of the service, Ronnie's estranged son Carl arrives, and angrily asks why the ceremony was not delayed for him.

Gerri gradually extends a degree of warmth to Mary, suggesting she should seek counseling and inviting her to stay for dinner, and the two women set the table.

To simulate the four seasons of a year, cinematographer Dick Pope used four different film stocks, and much attention was paid to details in the props so that the passage of time would appear believable.

The website's consensus reads: "Characterized by strong performances and the director's trademark feel for the nuances of everyday life, Another Year marks another solid entry in Mike Leigh's career of kitchen-sink English drama.

"[10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 81 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

[11] Another Year debuted at Cannes and although it failed to receive any prizes, it was highly praised by critics,[12][13][14] scoring a 3.4/4 average at Screen International's annual Cannes Jury Grid, which polls international film critics from publications such as Sight & Sound, Positif, L'Unità and Der Tagesspiegel.

"[16] Xan Brooks of The Guardian described Another Year as "a rare treat",[17] and Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent described the film as "an acutely well-observed study of needy and unhappy people desperately trying to make sense of their lives.

"[18] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Another Year is about the turning wheel of life, an examination of the pleasures and jealousies, disappointments and insecurities, destroyed dreams and rekindled hopes that make up our daily existence.

"[19] A. O. Scott of The New York Times called the film "splendidly rich and wise" and opined that "as in its immediate precursor, Happy-Go-Lucky, Mr. Leigh is also after a more elusive and troubling form of injustice.

"[20] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post gave the film three out of four stars, and described it as "a joy, albeit one suffused with melancholy - a visually rich, musical, unmannered slice of life that magnifies experience rather than miniaturizing it.