In Celebration (1975) - Lindsay Anderson

Adapted from the stage play by David Storey, Lindsay Anderson's In Celebration tells the story of Andrew, Colin, and Steve, three well-educated sons of a coal-miner, who return home to their modest roots on the eve of their parent's wedding anniversary.  Returning home to their dank little childhood home, Andrew, Colin, and Steven all come as successful professionals by traditional standards, but only Colin, a successful executive for an automotive company seems to be comfortable and happy with his current place in the world.  Much to the dismay of his family, Andrew appears to be the most embittered, the brother who has grown tired of living his life defined by the traditional meaning of success, opting to quit his job as a lawyer in the hope of becoming an artist.  As the family reconnects, revelations are revealed not only about the present but also the past are old memories are unearthed, some of which their parents hoped to keep buried.  While its stage play origins are quite obvious, with the film taking place almost entirely in the small row house and being very dialogue heavy, Lindsay Anderson's In Celebration is a well staged and directed film, a story of underlying tension and constantly evolving perspectives.  The film captures what lurks under the veil of good manners, politeness, and general decency, finding these three brothers' slowly reveal their overall frustrations with their place in life.   Like much of Anderson's films, In Celebration is a story of many things, but perhaps the film's most interesting aspect is its existentialsim, painting a portrait of a group of characters who routinely struggle to define themselves and their success in this world. The film doesn't judge these characters for their past mistakes or the animosity they show, rather Anderson shows an incredibly humility towards all of her characters in this story, empathetic to their existential struggle.  This is perhaps best exhibited in her treatment of the parents, characters who hid dark secrets from their children, with Anderson realizing it was done so with kind intentions in mind, acknowledging that intention isn't always enough.  Featuring strong performances all around and an extremely well-written screenplay that touches on a host of issues facing humanity such as consumerism, self-satisfaction, and family bonds, Lindsay Anderson's In Celebration is an intricate character study with big ideas.  

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