Review of Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) by Loner Moves . — 21 Dec 2009

This was strange one. I love Mike Leigh possibly in an unhealthy way. In many ways Happy Go Lucky is as perfect a Mike Leigh movie as any. It reflects the same common lives, loves, humanity and relationships he's always been interested in and assembles those core elements with his trademark improvised acting and respectful direction. The characters, dialogue, music and even the font used for the credits are text book Mike Leigh. This is partly the problem also. It many ways HGL felt like an 80's Mike Leigh film with its snappy call and response banter and characters verging on caricature. But whilst these features are charming when looking back at High Hopes or Life Is Sweet they seem strangely out of synch with the times. It almost feels like Leigh hasn't really moved on as a filmmaker but has taken a step back rather than forward. No one speaks like this anymore sadly and it's problematic for any new viewer approaching his work to try and assign relevance and empathy with the characters.

Good points? Sally Hawkins' performance as Poppy was excellent and had me drifting from finding her mildly irritating to becoming my perfect woman at one point. There was a beauty and innocence to her character that was beguiling yet she's as annoying as any perpetual optimist can be. It wasn't strictly a *happy* film. We learn that there is no real *right* way to be in reality and that for all of Poppy's goodness she can hurt and underestimate the people around her. This duality gives the film some much needed thoughtful meat to its bones.

The problems?

Well, Scott the driving instructor (excellently played though by Eddie Marsan) is like a less interesting, limp and more pathetic Johnny from Naked. The scene with the tramp hints at depth but seems to offer none and is clumsily placed with seemingly no logical motivations from the main protagonist. It all feels very recycled as if Leigh is going through the motions but still I prefer this to his more recent fare like the acclaimed Secrets and Lies and the deeply uninteresting Career Girls.

It's still Leigh though so it gets three.