As with most of Director Mike Leigh's other films, "ANOTHER YEAR" asks for its viewers to have patience. For that, what they receive with his latest, "ANOTHER YEAR," now on blu-ray from SONY, may not be "entertaining," but something more provocative, powerful and disturbing than most films of the past few years. It's hard to call the experience as "rewarding," but it's definitely original.

Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen star as husband and wife, Tom and Gerri. While this couple have what most would consider a wonderful marriage and life(they are comfortable both financially and emotionally), with a son, Joe. Within the course of one year, viewers follow Tom and Gerri's outlook on heartache, loss and more, while they witness these things touching others around them, lucky enough to not have it directly touch them. Or does it?

Leigh is incredible at juggling many different story arcs, carefully showing just what he needs to in order to allow the viewer to believe they're watching one particular perspective, only to be surprised later, that they've actually been witness to something else! It's an incredible feat, and hard to explain. This is why, with the single reservation, being, much of what encompasses "ANOTHER YEAR," will likely be too depressing for some to endure over its two hour running time. For those who make it, "ANOTHER YEAR," is a great, disturbing, eye-opening film.  Mary, a co-worker of Gerri's lives such a sad life, aching for everything she can't have but witnesses all around her, is one of the most original, poignant characters ever found in film!  It's hard to watch her do the things she does, knowing it's bound to end up badly, but we can't help watch, any more than she can stop doing the things she does! Brilliant, but painful!

SONY has provided the correct 2.35:1 aspect ratio for this AVC MPEG-4 1080p blu-ray.  Leigh loves close-ups, especially on faces, so the detail is exquisite for the most part as evident in these shots. However, it's not a flawless transfer and some scenes are a bit too soft. Colors appear natural throughout, and based on locations, this means not typically vibrant. Contrast is generally adequate, but darker scenes suffer a bit due to less than deep blacks, swallowing up minor detail. It's a good transfer, overall, but certainly not ranking with the best of SONY blu-ray releases.

SONY has provided a DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix. Being dialogue-focused, ambient effects are minimal. However, the mix feels natural, and the dialogue is perfectly rendered throughout, with music playing a minor but effective part, complimented with flawless fidelity. It's a perfectly suited mix for the material at hand.

In addition to a dvd copy, SONY has included some extras:

An audio commentary with Leigh and Lesley Manville, offers great insight regarding the specific film production, but not a whole lot that would interest aspiring filmmakers hoping to learn the "ACTOR'S STUDIO" type of detail from a James Lipton interview.

A featurette(standard resolution only) offers a sort of cliff-notes overview from Leigh as to what his goal was with "ANOTHER YEAR," along with cast/crew comments.

A featurette, "THE MIKE LEIGH METHOD," offers brief thoughts about Leigh's directing style.

A trailer for other SONY releases, in 1080p, is also included.