To simulate the four seasons of a year, cinematographer Dick Pope used four different film stocks, and much attention was paid to details in the props so that the passage of time would appear believable.
Filming took 12 weeks.
The film is dedicated to Mike Leigh 's late friend and long-term producing partner Simon Channing Williams.
It premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.
The only non-Best Picture nominee for the year to be nominated for Best Original Screenplay, it was also the only non-Best Picture film nominated in any of the screenwriting categories.