Happy-Go-Lucky is a film that defines, and yet transcends, the feel-good movie. Written and directed by Mike Leigh, Britain’s auteur of realism and every-day comedy, the film follows Poppy (Sally Hawkins) through her simple life in London as she interacts with a variety of individuals. What makes Poppy special and worthy of carrying an entire film, is her undying optimism and cheerfulness; she is simply always smiling and laughing at what life has to offer. She leads a normal and ordinary existence: works as a pre-school teacher (very apropos), lives with her best mate, goes out to clubs with her girlfriends and little sister, and occasionally visits her other (also younger) sister in the suburbs, who is married with a baby on the way. When she begins taking driving lessons, her life becomes a bit more intense, as the instructor, Scott (a powerful Eddie Marsden) is an extremely pessimistic bigot with some serious anger problems.
Leigh excels in finding touching, funny or meaningful moments in what at first seems to be every-day mundane life, and in this film, he finds those moments through Poppy. She may, at first, get on one’s nerves as she giggles her way through a flamenco class, or perhaps seem unbelievable when she wanders through a ghetto neighborhood and befriends a homeless man. But as the film went on, it dawned on me what an incredible and yet completely accessible character Poppy is. She simply wants to help people; she lives for valuable interactions with strangers, friends, and even enemies. Hawkins brings an amazing energy and fabulous demeanor to the character. She creates a wonderful performance that deserves to be lauded and treasured, as, indeed, it has been, by numerous critics.
The excellent script (nominated for an Oscar) creates clever, silly and realistic conversations between Poppy and other characters. Her best friend and roommate, Zoe (played by wonderful newcomer Alexis Zegerman), complements Poppy’s character perfectly; she is the straight man to Poppy’s funny one, she’s amusingly dry with her wit, unemotional but not cold, and with an evident love and appreciation for Poppy. Poppy’s married sister, Helen, on the other hand, excels in criticizing and insists Poppy must be unhappy (who, her?!) since she doesn’t have a mortgage or future life plans. The one who’s unhappy, of course, and jealous of Poppy’s freedom, is Helen, and seems to be the complete opposite of Poppy, as she spreads pessimism to everyone else. There is also a small romantic subplot that Leigh creates naturally, without too much fuss. Poppy’s date with Tim, a social worker helping one of her students, has just the right amount of cleverness, sweetness, and awkwardness.
The most interesting and complex of Poppy’s interactions is with Scott. They meet four times for lessons, and with each encounter, we learn a bit more about him, and find we don’t particularly want to know anymore. Poppy, however, though at times reviled and boggled during their sessions, keeps going back. When Scott finally blows up, it’s clear that he is intensely jealous of Poppy and her simple life. His own sad existence has led him to hate society and the world in a completely irrational manner, and this, as well as what he wrongly presumes about Poppy, leads him to break out in a tirade of rage against her. It is in this powerful scene that we learn the most about Poppy’s character. Even if we’ve grown to love her by this point, it may be doubtful as to how well she handles such difficult situations; however, she is stronger than she seems and becomes serious for the first time. Although disturbed by it, she accepts Scott’s rage, listens with a look of sympathy, and waits until he’s finished. She then continues on with her life. The episode of course affects her, but she manages to be affected without letting it get to her. Nor does she indulge Scott’s rage by granting him an argument. She handles the situation with great carefulness, and the episode shows that she takes all of life’s interactions, good or bad. Marsden displays his amazing acting talent in this climactic scene especially, and proves his ability to play difficult leading roles, which he does not often get.
Leigh has created a fantastic character in a straightforward and meaningful film, which is full of wonderful scenes and conversations that are so regular one may not realize just how great they are on the first viewing. In short, he has created a real portrayal of life, which could be anyone’s, but it is made extraordinary by the central character, and she is the secret ingredient to make the audience realize what their own lives have to offer. When Zoe pleads with Poppy to stop being so nice to people, she answers that she only wants to “bring a smile to the world.” Perhaps if we all had this goal, we’d be as happy-go-lucky as Poppy.
Astoria Cinema 