Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)

I was totally taken by surprise by this film of Mike Leigh's. I was expected something lite, vaguely Amelie like, and I suppose in some measure I got that, but I got something more too. I should have expected given the only other Leigh film I've seen to date (the 2004 British abortion drama Vera Drake) that there might be some serious substance here regardless of the packaging. Happy-Go-Lucky is the story of Poppy (an infectiously adorably Sally Hawkins), a peppy, single, thirty year old primary school teacher, and her relationships with those around her, especially a tightly wound driving instructor played by Eddie Marsan. Poppy is so wonderful, so at ease with her self, so genuinely happy yet empathetic. Her interactions with others are so fascinating to watch, the relationships can be simple but here rendered with such an overpowering sense of the subtle, and of being in the moment. Despite being a character that could have been rendered in such a surfacy manner, Poppy remains one of the most real seeming performances I've witnessed in some time. I hesitate to give much away, there is so much to be got by just seeing this unawares, suffice it to say however that a lot of what was in this film resonated, being thirty and not really established in life, the intricacy's of relationships with family and friends, and something about unrealized hopes and dreams, dashed expectations and repression that could have been so heavy, but here is so... caring. Poppy is defiantly the type of person I'd want to teach my kids (if I had any) and to paraphrase a line from the movie, I wouldn't mind seeing her face again myself. 5 stars.