Tom and Gerri have been together since they met at University and now, nearing retirement age, are that rare breed of being a truly happily married couple. In their idyllic life, which seems to revolve a lot around gardening together, their geniality makes them a magnet for some very unhappy people. There is Ken an overweight very old friend whose depression makes him manically continuously eat, drink and smoke; and Mary who’s a work colleague of Gerri, who’s lonely, terrified of losing her youth and drowns her sorrow in drink and is oblivious to the fact that she stretches their usually unlimited patience almost to breaking point.
The movie follows another year in Tom & Gerri’s seemingly blissful life where they work, garden, feed their friends, pray that they very well-adjusted 30 yr. old son will find a girlfriend (and he does). But among all this positive energy of life moving forward there is Mary whose delusions are regularly shattered one by one and seems to be rapidly spiraling downwards.R.T.V. This immensely enjoyable very human comedy/drama works on every level because as in every Mike Leigh film these are well-constructed characters who are very real and that we can relate to warmly (except Mary …. esp. as we may all see a part of ourselves in her). And without exception they are played by the caliber of fine actors that Mr. Leigh always casts; Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen as the leads are unquestionably brilliant but this is very much Lesley Manville’s picture: her superlative turn as Mary is sparingly spot on and totally wonderful.
