English screenwriter, producer and director Michael Winterbottom's nineteenth feature film which he co-wrote with French screenwriter Laurence Coriat, premiered in the Shows section at the 39th Telluride Film Festival in 2012, was screened in the Masters section at the 37th Toronto International Film Festival in 2012, was shot on location in Norfolk, England over a period of five years and is a United Kingdom production which was produced by producer Melissa Parmenter. It tells the story about a woman named Karen who lives in a house in a rural county in the East of England with her sons named Shaun and Robert and daughters named Stephanie and Katrina. Karen's husband named Ian whom she and his children are waiting to get back home has been in prison for several years and is serving his sentence.Distinctly and finely directed by UK filmmaker Michael Winterbottom, this quietly paced fictional tale which is narrated from the mother, father and children's viewpoints, draws a tangible and intimate portrayal of four children who are missing their father and a hard working mother whom is struggling to hold her family together whilst regularly visiting her man who is incarcerated. While notable for it's naturalistic milieu depictions, sterling cinematography by cinematographers James Clarke, Sean Bobbitt, Marcel Zyskind, Simon Tindall and Anne Marie Lean Vercoe, use of sound and realism, this narrative-driven story where the continuity is created by repetitions and abrupt editing depicts two interrelated studies of character and contains a great score by English composer Michael Nyman.This atmospheric, conversational and romantic drama about an English family which is set in the county of Norfolk in the East of England and where a matrimony is challenged by the distance that has and is keeping a husband and wife apart due to his past criminal actions, is impelled and reinforced by it's cogent narrative structure, subtle character development and continuity, natural humor and dialog, ordinary and charming characters, the modest and sincere acting performances by English actor John Simm, Scottish actress Shirley Henderson and the pivotal acting performances by the child actors and actresses. A lyrical, compassionate, mindful and heartrending labour of love from a great European filmmaker which gained the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film at the 23rd Stockholm International Film Festival in 2012.

The film appears to have been shot in Lincolnshire and Norfolk, much in the Stamford area, and focuses on one family over five years, as they wait for the father to be released from prison. This is not one of those depressing 'true life' stories, but is a non-judgemental documentary style piece about a family living with an edge of expectation of what's round the corner, with real life pending for the moment. The film benefits from being shot over five years, as there are no changes of actors as the children age. John Simm and Shirley Henderson are completely believable ordinary parents, and the natural performances of the children, who are real-life siblings, help create the documentary feel.

Take one art-house director, use non-actors in the most emotionally engaging roles (the children) and film it over five years. There you have it! A piece of work that receives amazing reviews and attention. Yet this drama has left me feeling strangely unmoved and disengaged. I wasn't interested in the adults and didn't care one iota about them, perhaps through the fault of the director? The only people that mattered to me were the kids but even their amazingly sensitive and natural performances struggled to keep my interest. Simm and Henderson were good, as they always are in their work, but no better than many other dramatic actors in far superior dramas. The scenes in Everyday were slow, and I found the accompanying music sounded like the film score from a Hallmark movie. Winterbottom's final shot was something that I have seen in endless films before... So why is everyone applauding this film? IS IT ME? Or is this truly a case of the Emperor's Clothing?

It's not very often that I enjoy a film in which very little actually happens! But "Everyday" is an exception. I saw it recently when it premiered at the BFI London Film Festival. It's a thoughtful, understated film with excellent performances. It held my interest right up until the end. And I enjoyed it very much. Filmed over 5 years, "Everyday" is a worthy but never dull film about how a mother and her four young children cope while her husband and their father serves a term of imprisonment. Karen (Shirley Henderson) spends the time accompanying her children to and from school, trying to keep the family's home-life on a reasonably even keel and visiting her husband Ian (John Simm) with the children. At the same time, she is trying to hold down her job as a barmaid at the local pub. She is also having an affair with one of her customers. "Everyday" examines the impact of Ian's absence on his wife and children. It does so in a naturalistic and unassuming way. There are no histrionics or very dramatic scenes. What we get are quietly effective vignettes that show how disruptive a husband and father's extended absence from home can be, particularly on young children. The acting is first rate. Henderson and Simm are very good indeed, as are all four youngsters who play the couple's children. The direction and the camera-work are also very effective. "Everyday" is a visually confident and a very impressive film. 8/10.