Going over it in my mind I've concluded that "Year after Year" is somewhat of a strange little beast of a movie. It's a musical, but it's actually unlike most musicals. There's a certain philosophical edge to it you don't normally associate with many musicals, at least I don't. It's an ambitious movie caught within the trappings of an independent budget; it contains polished Broadway sounding songs yet often shifts to scenes with raw emotion and realism. It's a film full of ideas about life; how it can be frustrating, monotonous, or just down right disappointing. It doesn't reach that point of being profound but has a genuine curiosity and need to ask such important questions. In the end the film is satisfied enough just to find a silver lining that doesn't leave you in utter despair.
"Year after Year" follows the lives of seven friends, all of whom gather every year to celebrate the birthday of their resident anti-socialite Bill (Joel Chricton). The film opens with Bill's 28th year; his friends include Todd and Rachel (Chris Cook and Elena Porter), a married couple on the verge of divorce; Peter and Laura (Andrew McKenzie and Zina Lee) a couple on the verge of getting married; Hunter (Matthew Thiel) a successful photographer, and Kate (Sarah Hemphill) who is Bill's closest friend which leads to an inevitable "will they or won't they" scenario.
Bill himself is stuck in a rut, he sees his life going nowhere, he can't commit to anything, and finds his writing talents being squandered at his job which consists of posting obituaries in the newspaper. He's even morbid enough to write his own mock obituary and have Kate read it out to him, which made me think, "what kind of guy does that?" Bill is obviously unhappy, it becomes so apparent that the question his friends ask him in a game of "Truth or Dare" is "Are you Happy?" A part of me thought that Bill is the sort of guy who kinda likes being unhappy, perhaps it's his way of getting attention, how else do you describe someone who would leave his own birthday party right in the middle of it, which is something that he does and his friends don't seem too surprised when it happens.
While Bill is trying to figure out how to live his life, his other friends aren't totally satisfied either. Todd and Rachel are becoming painfully aware that they are falling out of love with eachother, which fills the film with the most poignant moments. Peter meanwhile is hesitant to get married, while Laura can't wait for the day she gets to walk down the aisle. Hunter is the most successful of the bunch, but even he seems to be drifting. Kate shares some of the same feelings as Bill, yet unlike him, seems more willing to move on. It looks as if everyone in the film is at some sort of stale mate wondering what the next move will be, while Bill is the anomaly, he's forever stagnant.
The music in "Year after Year" is a bright spot in the film which uses it as interior monologues for the characters and a very clever way to visualize their own frustrations, worries, and observations. There are a couple of very amusing musical numbers my favorite being "Wedding Nights" which is an ode to "Grease's" own "Summer Nights". The song which actually lifts scenes from "Grease" almost verbatim is a cheeky and satirical look at getting married sung primarily by soon to be divorced Todd and Rachel. After the fun and energy that song brings, it's abruptly undercut with a shot of Rachel basically confessing part of the reason she married was a fear of being alone. It's moments like these the film does very well, completely changing tone without sacrificing the overall theme.
The film does a lot of balancing acts with its songs, from a bitter sweet duet between Todd and Rachel about their break-up, to a clever spoken word manifesto by Peter about the trials and tribulations of getting married. There is a reason for every song in the film and the lyrics by Spencer Pasman and Stephanie Ridge should be commended, they really help hold the film together in my mind. However the one character that didn't hold water for me was Hunter, I saw him as a bit shallow and underdeveloped. It didn't help that the songs he sang came off as the least memorable and his solos reminded me of cliche music videos that have rock stars throwing a hissy fit.
The performances by the unknown cast really impressed me by being able to balance the heightened emotion of the songs, but also pulling off very natural performances. Joel Chricton brings a certain gravity and pathos to Bill and fleshes out a real performance adding humour and charm, making us care about this ultimately very sad guy. As Todd and Rachel, Chris Cook and Elena Porter work well together finding moments of bitterness and sadness, I personally found their story the most touching and actually wanted to see more of them. As Kate, Sarah Hemphill gives the most grounded performance out of anyone, playing someone who doesn't have it all figured out yet but not letting that stop her; we can see her love for Bill but also the need to move on with her life. She's able to project what she's feeling through her expressions and the camera captures it beautifully.
"Year after Year" was directed with a virtuosic energy by Dustin Clark, a man who knows how to frame a shot and get the best out his actors. I mentioned how this film is like a balancing act of tone and Clark seems to be walking a tightrope keeping all these elements together. There's a confidence I found in what he does with "Year after Year" changing the tone like a jazz musician. Clark is not afraid to take chances and go all out, he's ambitious and it's here I think he would've benefited with a bigger budget and more time. There are times where "Year after Year" looks like it wants to be a big splashy Hollywood musical and it tries to hide its limitations. I applaud Clark on going that direction, and there are times he pulls it off such as the hypothetical date night sequence Bill recites to his friends, it's probably the most original sequence in the film and totally takes it in a direction you don't see coming. I was more impressed with the sense of reality Clark brings to the film, there's a grainy element in some scenes that give off a more stripped down quality to it. I was more enamored with these less flashy musical numbers particularly involving Bill and Kate on the roof than anything else. It's here I think the film finds its footing and its this approach I wish were utilized in more recent musicals I see because they are mostly worried about big production numbers rather than intimate stories.
The biggest risk the film takes is probably with its finale that I'm afraid I didn't quite buy into. Bill sort of has a "It's a Wonderful Life" epiphany that "No man is a failure who has friends" thanks to some touching quotes in his journal he got as a gift, and a montage of him and his friends throughout the years. It kind of simplifies things a little too much in my mind but I suppose the film is content with that; it would rather be an enjoyable movie showing a silver lining rather than ending on what might've been far more grim yet maybe a bit more interesting. But then again perhaps Bill should get his happy ending, like all of us, we should be aloud to move on.
In the end though "Year after Year" is one of those films full of ideas that might make you think and contemplate your own life. Not many films ask such questions these days, as a matter of fact, I was thinking of recent movies I've seen and I couldn't think of one that asked such questions. It's not perfect, but not a lot of first films are. What I see most in "Year after Year" is a whole lot of potential, and a lot of risks, it's a film that has a lot to say and it's trying to find its footing, sometimes it doesn't land on its feet but I'd rather see something that's brave enough to put itself out there then something that plays it safe.
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