#7

I highly doubt that Hollywood power brokers are aggressively examining the oeuvre of Mike Leigh in search of remake fodder. Lucky for all of us, since it’s easy to imagine the cheery monstrosity that would result if Happy-Go-Lucky fell into the wrong hands. With Mike Leigh at the helm, it’s a small, genuine wonder. The film is effectively a character study, casting Sally Hawkins as a British schoolteacher named Poppy who approaches life with a buoyant, seemingly unshakable positive outlook. She spends time with her friends, takes driving lessons, helps a troubled boy at school, finds herself in a new, sweet romance. There are stories–smartly built, interesting stories, even–but the film is more of a loose collection of incidents that show us how Poppy reacts to her surroundings. Any instinctive sense about how easily this character can be categorized, though, are confounded by the film itself. Poppy’s empathetic nature lends her wisdom, and her rosy views build resilience. And just when it seems her sunniness can overcome any challenge, she faces a personality conflict that she can’t overcome. She also has the somber self-awareness to realize it, and still persevere. Hawkins portrays all of this with charming verve and bubbling intelligence. As a character, Poppy could have easily become singular, redundant. Instead, Hawkins and Leigh work together to make her vibrant and real. A filmmaker completely comfortable with barbed toughness, Leigh has perhaps made his sweetest lark with Happy-Go-Lucky. That doesn’t mean it’s any less rich or inspired.

(Posted simultaneously to “Jelly-Town!”)