keithhmessenger
Whether or not Mike Leigh made his 'upbeat' 2008 film (at least partly) in direct response to his (unfounded) reputation of 'being miserable' or whether it was simply a case (as Leigh has said) of tapping into the joie-de-vivre spirit of lead actress Sally Hawkins is perhaps a moot point, but Happy-Go-Lucky's apparent 'change of mood' went some way to splitting critics and fans alike. For me, it is not one of the man's great works, but neither is it without merit. Leigh may have strayed into 'character exaggeration' somewhat - with Hawkins' indefatigable, unattached, life-and-soul of the party and teacher, Poppy, and Eddie Marsan's conspiracy theorist and (essentially) fascist driving instructor, Scott - plus, of course, Poppy's constant stream of banter is not to everyone's comedic taste, but I don't doubt for a minute that these types of character do exist out there and Leigh (in typically perceptive fashion) gets under their skins to explore (his familiar) themes of social conditioning, family dysfunction, human miscommunication and (particularly here) what constitutes happiness in contemporary Britain. The urban milieu setting is also familiar Leigh - here middle-class, 'trendy' London - captured evocatively by regular cinematographer, Dick Pope, and scored (often jauntily) by Gary Yershon.Leigh has, of course, often had prominent female characters in his work, but Happy-Go-Lucky is notable (along with 1997's Career Girls) for being unusually female-centric. One of the film's most endearing features is the central pairing of Hawkins' 'comedienne' Poppy and her flatmate, Alexis Zegerman's 'straight man' and fellow teacher, Zoe and the scenes of the pair joshing with their student friends in their Camden Town pad are totally naturalistic and often very funny. Hawkins' performance was rightly acknowledged as outstanding (of course, the actress does 'serious' here just as well as she does 'comic'), but Zegerman is, for me, at least her equal - Zoe, in effect, being an understated foil to Poppy's OTT ebullience. Here, Leigh's drama is very much 'life as lived' i.e. episodic rather than with a strong central narrative per se, but the film's central theme of what it means to be happy is brought to life by Leigh via a series of impressive set-pieces (many characters from which can be linked back through the film-maker's past work). The uptight, controlling, but seemingly thoughtful Scott might be an updated version of Johnny from Naked or, perhaps more accurately, Keith from Nuts In May. Particularly vibrant is the flamenco dance sequence during which Karina Fernandez's instructor loses it over a past relationship, whilst Poppy's true, 'serious' (angelic?) side surfaces during the memorable night-time encounter she has with Stanley Townsend's tramp (in a scene that could have been lifted from Naked). Leigh's talent for ensemble scenes is then on prominent display during Poppy, her 'angry' sister (Kate O'Flynn's Suzy) and Zoe's visit to the domestic suburban 'haven' of Poppy's other sister, Caroline Martin's house-proud, married and pregnant, Helen. The dialogue here is particularly worthy of the film's screenplay Oscar nomination, whilst Suzy bears comparison with (among others) Jane Horrocks' Nicola from Life Is Sweet or Martin Savage's Carl from Another Year, whilst Helen could be a 'reincarnation' of either Phyllis Logan's Monica from Secrets and Lies or Marion Bailey's Barbara from Meantime.In the end, the film might be most lastingly remembered for establishing Hawkins as one of the UK's leading (and most bankable) actresses, following her earlier, less prominent roles in Vera Drake and All Or Nothing. In this respect Leigh should take a bow in terms of the nurturing of British acting talent, as Hawkins thus follows in the footsteps of Lesley Manville, Jim Broadbent, Timothy Spall, Phil Davis, Ruth Sheen, Brenda Blethyn, Imelda Staunton, Daniel Mays, Peter Wight, Marion Bailey, Dorothy Atkinson and many others - a list potentially even stretching to include Phil Daniels, Tim Roth and Gary Oldman from 1983's Meantime!
lewiskendell
I'm not very good at reviewing movies like these, because they defy description by the usual methods. There isn't a definite plot, but there really is one. It's a comedy and a drama and an unnamed genre of film that has elements of both and none of those. It seems almost pointless at first, but it ends up being meaningful and captivating. Half the time I was bored and wanted to and watch something else, and the other half of the time I couldn't have been torn away. That's probably one of the biggest changes in opinion that I've ever had during the course of one film.I loved the latter half, but I thought the first half of the film was dangerously close to boring. In the beginning, Poppy seems to be happy and optimistic to the point of annoyance, like an overly frisky puppy that won't leave you alone when you've had a hard day at work. Oh, but give Mike Leigh and Sally Hawkins a little more time to work their magic. As the movie goes on, she stops being a caricature and becomes a living, breathing, wonderful person. The kind of person that adds so much more to the world than she takes away. Poppy made me examine myself, to see how optimistic and good-natured I really am. Nothing keeps her down for long, and even when her good intentions don't quite go the way she plans, she manages to make good decisions and do what's best for others. Poppy will go down in history as one of the most likable characters ever written.Sally Hawkins handles the role brilliantly. Similar to Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, there just is never a sense that she's acting. It all seems so natural. She's so authentically dorky and kind and silly that I almost wish that I knew a person exactly like her. It took me a while to warm up to Happy-Go-Lucky's particular charms, but I'm so happy that I gave myself the opportunity to. This movie is most certainly not for everyone, but I know that there's a good chance that anyone with an open mind will love it.
