Happy-Go-Lucky Review

Mike Leigh ("Vera Drake", "Secrets and Lies", "Naked") is one of those rare writer/directors with both popular appeal and art-house kudos. He is in short a film critic's dream. For some decades now he's been bringing us portraits of British life, in many cases so blindingly real that they feel like a documentary. The reason for this hyper sense of reality is that he workshops the dialogue with the actors, so each actor truly embodies the character they play an effect that succeeds in convincing us that they are real.

Leigh's latest film is a slight break from tradition in that it's a comedy, "Happy-Go-Lucky" presents us with a character so doggedly positive that even in the face of her adversaries (and there are many) she continues to smile, laugh at herself and come out with an entertaining barrage of jokes. Poppy is played by Sally Hawkins who previously worked with Leigh on Vera Drake and seems an obvious mews for him to create this character. Poppy is a primary school teacher who shares a flat with her best friend in Camden. When her bicycle is stolen one day, she is only disappointed that she didn't get a chance to say goodbye and decides it's time she learned how to drive. If Poppy is open and positive, her driving instructor Scott is the opposite. He is an uptight conspiracy theorist who is frustrated by her attitude and attracted to her at the same time. Poppy plays on his discomfort with flirtatious jokes, creating both the funniest and most harrowing scenes in the film.

"Happy-Go-Lucky" is a keenly observed slice of a very likable character's life. Poppy may be happy-go-lucky but she's also very strong and refuses to be swayed by the extreme views that are forced on her from a variety of sources. Watching Poppy's everyday triumphs has an infectiously uplifting effect.