Another year is coming to an end. In agricultural societies the year begins to end with the bringing in of the harvest and thanksgiving. In urban societies the bonus used to replace the harvest during the Celtic Tiger days. A new generation replete with degrees and a new lifestyle worked hard, and felt they were worth it. Our economic crisis I think has killed the dream that happiness is to be found there. Recently a new film by Mike Leigh - appropriately enough called Another Year - probed our pursuit of happiness. At its centre were Tom and Gerri now in their 60s, who seem to have an inexhaustible supply of happiness.
We discover them in their garden plot where they work contentedly producing fruit and veg which their friends gladly share. Even when it rains they sit comfortably together in a shelter drinking tea, and their delight emerges in a smile. Their long, comfortable marriage seems to have unfolded without serious friction or disappointment. Tom is a geologist who is really interested in his work and Gerri is a therapist who counsels patients in a clinic.
Many film critics questioned how they earned their happiness or almost angrily asked if they deserved it. The only answer in the film is offered obliquely through Mary, Gerri’s co-worker. She is probably as miserable as Gerri is happy. She hangs around Tom and Gerri as if to gain access to happiness by sharing theirs. Like Tom’s pal Ken, she is insecure, needy and prone to drink too much. She occasionally rehearses her advantages: she is a graduate with a good job, a nice flat, a car, and friends, but as often later dismisses them all as valueless. One of the most painful moments in the movie is when she is leaving their house after spending the night there, but is reluctant to go, as she really has nowhere to go. Pathetically she is almost predatory in her attempts to find a man, but the only one who admires her, is summarily dismissed as too needy.
When Joe, Tom and Gerri’s son, brings home the girl he intends to marry and make happy, Mary is jealous and envies the girl her happiness. Gradually, the film seems to say that happiness is something you first give and only later gratefully receive when it is offered, but is not something you can earn. Tom and Gerri are kind, endlessly patient, encouraging, and show genuine affection for Mary even when her conduct is embarrassing. They are always the givers, wanting to share, rather than greedy takers.
And St. Paul took to heart what Jesus said ‘There is more happiness in giving than in receiving’ (Acts 20:35)