Review of Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) by Itamar K — 05 Oct 2010

Mike Leigh's lightest and happiest film yet, Happy-Go-Lucky could easily be seen as Leigh's response to Jeunet's Amelie. But to me, Poppy's happiness was not contagious, and her character came over mainly as annoying and repressed.

Sally Hawkins does indeed do a remarkable job with the character, but it doesn't help the fact that it's still quite shallow and there's no real development over time. On the other side of the spectrum is Eddie Marsan who also does a remarkable job, but also suffers from an undeveloped personality.

The acting is good enough that most of the interactions between the two characters is interesting to watch but the rest of the film drags by and doesn't reach any satisfying conclusion or even pose very interesting questions.