Waste of time... the end of the movie is the worst I have ever seen

good indy look at UK's lower class

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.

Well-acted, well-shot, but man... it really doesn't come together. Certain sequences are well cut, but overall the pace is just fucking OFF. I've never been so sleepy watching a movie I was so engrossed by, if that makes any sense.

I would give it another star but it didn't really lead anywhere and it dragged and waffled when it wasn't necessary.

A fascinating film - the couple and their children are decent people who are trying to get through a protracted, difficult time in their lives where many would have failed.

The only true brilliance of this movie is the director's choice to shoot it each year, for four years, two weeks. Too bad, he couldn't also come up with a story line as well. I mean, he had FOUR YEARS! Critics love it. Audience hate it, I'm with the audience on this one.

"Everyday" is the story of Karen(Shirley Henderson) and Ian(John Simm, not playing a time traveler for once), parents of four children. While Ian is serving a prison sentence, Karen takes care of the children while working a succession of low paying jobs. In between, she gets up at the crack of dawn with her children to make the long journey via public transportation to visit him. And that's it for any kind of plot here, except for maybe the subplot about Karen's burgeoning friendship with another man. But that's pretty much all you need in Michael Winterbottom's supremely naturalistic exploration of the hardships of the families of those behind bars in England where at least everybody seems very polite.

Beautifully filmed and marvelously acted this simple yet complex film shot over years tells a very ordinary story of a family and their day-to-day existence and travails while the father is in prison. The juxtaposition of the shots of the English countryside often resplendent with color with the drab prison affirms the sense of loss that the father feels while incarcerated. His wife carries the weight of maintaining the family by herself. Nothing explodes and there is no plot per se beyond that of what we call life. It is a tale of family, of frailty and, ultimately, endurance.

Thought provoking. Well done. Not for everyone.

Michael Winterbottom goes reality show style.

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Life over a few years of a woman with four children while her husband was in jail. Realistic acting.

'Everyday'. Incredibly intimate and real due to its writing, direction and devotion to time. The score is gloriously melancholy and hopeful all at once. Filming over five years really does bring out the subtle changes, especially in the child actors, adding to the naturalism of it all. Shirley Henderson is fantastic in carrying the emotional weight.

Gritty british social realism, a good film but I ended up leaving and thinking, so what?

Boring. Yes, everyday life, but need it be so monotonous?

More than any other British film-maker working today, Winterbottom is pushing the boundaries of narrative technique. His latest examines the lives of a family over the course of a father's four year prison stretch. What sets it apart is Winterbottom's decision to shoot it over five years, casting the four young Kirk siblings (two boys and two girls) as the children of Simm and Henderson. The film is essentially based around four prison visits, each roughly a year apart, and seeing the children realistically age adds an extra level of pathos. Most viewers will no doubt find the film's lack of drama infuriating but the performances, (particularly Henderson's), and Winterbottom's subtle direction make it interesting up to a point. Ultimately however it's a much more successful experiment than it is a piece of story-telling. Michael Nyman's score, though a tad too dramatic for the proceedings it accompanies, is quite beautiful.

I was expecting something quite special given the 5 year timespan and the quality of actors, but instead this is a terribly turgid sentimental dirge of a movie. The music is dire (verging on ridiculous), glum strings endlessly repeating an inane theme - reminiscent of some of those earnest kitchen sink dramas of the 1980s, but far less interesting or relevant. The sound generally was awful. The acting was superb, and the kids surprisingly good, even the handheld camera work was generally fine.... just shoot the director! If you find yourself getting bored watching it and are waiting for things to slide into gear, don't bother... they don't.

An experiment too far by Michael Winterbottom. While there is merit in putting a relationship under the spotlight I question the validity of turning your back on absolutely everything that is going on, on the periphery. And it has the most awful film music I've heard. Some wonderful naturalistic performances is what gives it merit but that is about it.