Happy-Go-Lucky

Certain actors would have to spend years to pull off the balancing act that Sally Hawkins performs in Mike Leigh’s new film, Happy-Go-Lucky. It is a work of delight, charisma, and poignancy all wrapped up into a pleasant little film. Leigh, whose films Secrets & Lies and Vera Drake are usually gloomy and emotionally heavy, goes into unfamiliar territory here, with a film so upbeat, that it’s to the point of unnerving. Of coarse, I mean that in the very best way possible.

Much has been said about Leigh’s “method”, where he essentially goes without a script, and allows the actors to create scene by scene with improvisation. I don’t know what it is about his system which brings about the best in actors, but it always prevails. His “slice-of-life” filmmaking technique creates such a permeating atmospheric tone that we are sucked into the lives of the eccentric characters that pass across the screen. Happy-Go-Lucky is a film taylor-made for this production theory, because the ad-libbing adds to the film’s comedic flow.

The film is solely about Poppy (Hawkins). She is a thirty-year-old elementary school teacher who sees her life through rose-colored glasses. She lives in bohemian England in a flat with her flatmate Zoe (Alexis Zegerman). Her spontaneity leads her into things such as flamenco dancing lessons, and wearing clothes that look like they were made by her young students. Her happiness is infectious to most, but pestering to some, as her glowing world view is mistaken for immaturity and indifference by some of the people who love her most.

There is no particular focus to the plot, other than to follow the days of Poppy. She decides to take driving lessons with an instructor that has an incendiary attitude, named Stan (a hilarious Eddie Marsan), where they constantly bicker. She has to deal with one student in her class that has violent tendencies. She has to juggle the insecurities of two younger sisters on opposite sides of the social line. Finally, she is able to meet Tim (Samuel Roukin), a social worker who helps children, and may be the one person who can handle her constant bubbly-ness.

No other film this year embodies it’s central character the way Happy-Go-Lucky does. This story’s structure does not move scene to scene, because Poppy is not the kind of character that moves from scene to scene. She takes time to notice certain books within a bookstore, and we stop to notice them with her. She wanders off into a back alley to spend quality time with a lonely homeless man, and we sit there with them, and we feel their closeness. It takes the time to see the world through Poppy’s eyes, and though we may not agree with her purposeful lifestyle, we never doubt that she has the right state of mind.

The film is primed with a wondrous supporting cast, including an over-enthusiastic flamenco dance instructor (Karina Fernandez), who is haunted by the infidelity of her ex-lover from years ago. Also, Roukin’s Tim is a fresh slice of warmth in the film. Eddie Marsden, as the manic Stan, is hysterical and haunting. Stan is the complete antithesis of what Poppy is and stands for. He approaches every scene foaming at the mouth, ready to catch Poppy by surprise, but the fact that she’s always two steps ahead of him makes him that much more furious. His surprising disclosure toward the end is one of the film’s high points.

Of coarse, though, the biggest star of this film is Hawkins. She is an actress of little popularity, but she has made her way in and out of various films since 2000. Much like Melissa Leo in Frozen River, this brilliant performance is an example of what can happen when a certain actor is simply given an oppurtunity. On paper, Poppy is nothing more than a stock character; the giggling, incompetent friend whose naievity is at some times endearing, but at most times annoying. Through Hawkins, she is a woman of immense depth, charm, and captivating personality. If she is not considered for an Oscar nomination in the coming months, there is no justice.

It only took 35 days for me to be able to see this film after its original Oct. 10th release, and under such long-waiting anticipation, a film can wither within my own overinflated expectation. Luckily for me, there was nothing disappointing within this darling picture. Hawkins holds the entire movie together with her enchanting performance, but is perfectly buoyed by Marsan’s supporting turn. Though unlike most of Leigh’s films in tone, it is not lacking in quality, as it is one of the best films so far this year.

 

Written and Directed by Mike Leigh