Happy Go Lucky (Mike Leigh, 2008): U.K.

Reviewed by Byron Potau.  Viewed at the Riviera Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA.

Every director will miss their mark now and then, but the great ones still know how to make their failures interesting.  This is the case with Mike Leigh’s latest offering, Happy Go Lucky.  Though not a complete failure, it is not quite a success either.

The film follows some seemingly arbitrary moments in the life of Poppy, an irritatingly optimistic and chatty schoolteacher, played by Sally Hawkins.  We see how she interacts with the children in her class, with her flat mate, with strangers, and with her driving instructor.  She attempts to cheer up anyone and everyone in her path, succeeding half the time, and the other half only succeeding in annoying them.  We continue down this path of Poppy at school, Poppy with flat mate, Poppy with driving instructor, Poppy at school, Poppy with stranger, Poppy with driving instructor etc.  This pattern continues rather uneventfully, but Leigh manages to weave it together in a way that it becomes more interesting the more you watch, and those arbitrary moments then become ones to reflect upon.

Where the film goes wrong is with Poppy, but not with Sally Hawkins who is fully invested in the character.  The problem with Poppy is that she not only annoys many of the people that she comes in contact with, but she also annoys the audience as well.  Her jokes are often only funny to her while it gets exasperating that this person cannot take anything seriously.  A bright spot in the film is Eddie Marsan who plays Poppy’s driving instructor Scott.  His performance is bursting with pent up rage and frustration and Marsan brings it all across brilliantly.

Many of Mike Leigh’s fans will be pleased with the work and they should be.  Though I do not believe this to be one of Leigh’s better films, there is much to be excited about.  Leigh has plenty to say on how we go about teaching, whether it is in a classroom or in a car, and about the way we deal with our problems.  Sally Hawkins is clearly a talented actress that will probably join the ranks of other Leigh veterans who have made a name for themselves.  This might be a film that grows stronger with age as it has plenty of depth, but for the time being I just wish Poppy was not so annoying.

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Published:
10.05.08 / 2am
Category:
Cinema Society, Films