I think I only heard of Happy-Go-Lucky because it got an oscar nomination for best original screenplay. It's a British film by Mike Leigh getting a limited release here. Sally Hawkins plays Poppy, a perpetually happy and annoying giddy primary school teacher. She comes across as a naive 30 year-old girl.
That screenplay nomination is well deserved for the unusualness of the plot. There isn't really much one of one. Poppy goes shopping, dancing, hangs with friends and teaches in school. Early on her bicycle is stolen so she starts taking driving lessons.
She's always happy and talks to everyone she runs into, even those that don't want to talk with her. Those that do, she always interrupts with quips and fills every silence with chatter. For the first half hour I hated her and would never want to be around this person.
It was a full two hours long, but I was always engaged with this film. I was uncomfortable at times and laughed out loud at others, and I slowly came to understand Poppy better. The amazing thing is, that I don't think she changed at all, I think I did. I don't think I've ever seen a film like this. The closest I can think of is Amélie but this is more serious. It asks the question "Are you happy and what are you doing about it?" but does so by example.
This was an odd film that I had no expectations of and really disliked at first. But by the end it won me over and became one of my favorites of the year. Seek it out, it's worth it.
No comments:
Post a Comment