Happy Go Lucky

B

Directed my Mike Leigh

British director Mike Leigh's latest semi-improvised comedy is an unpretentious and utterly enjoyable little film that is elevated far above its light subject matter but absolutely splendid performances by Sallie Hawkins and support actor Eddie Marsan.

Poppy (Sallie Hawkins) is a thirty year old primary school teacher who lives in a shared flat with her best friend Zoe. Bubbly, carefree, and utterly unfazed by other's expectations for her, she's a breath of fresh air in an otherwise drab world. Poppy's blissful existence is interrupted by a particularly difficult and grumpy driving instructor (Eddie Marsan) who momentarily snaps Poppy back to the reality that the world isn't necessarily filled with others who, like her, skate through life with a smile and a wink.

Although Leigh's film isn't the deepest or most perceptive film he's ever made, it's still a joy to watch mostly, as already mentioned, due to the strong performances of Leigh's cast. Mike Leigh's semi-improvised efforts often depend, not surprisingly, on the excellence of his actors. In the case of "Happy Go Lucky" Leigh gets the most out of his cast, especially from Hawkins and the always excellent Eddie Marsan. Marsan, a career support player, is the type of actor who is so underrated he's almost overrated, sort of like John C. Reily before he started taking lead roles. Marsan truly is excellent, however, as Poppy's neurotic and troubled driving instructor, suffusing his scenes with Hawkins with a an often hilarious but always nervous and off kilter energy that seems to always be on the verge of leading to an ugly denouement which, in the end, it does. As good as Marsan is, it's Hawkins who steals the show and her performance as Poppy was perhaps the most widely heralded effort of 2008, so much so that she was awarded the Golden Globe for best female lead over Meryl Streep (who, despite a vastly inferior performance in "Mama Mia!" was probably expecting to win the award because, well, she's Meryl Streep). Hawkin's makes Poppy interesting and, most importantly, plausible despite all her quirks, an achievement that shouldn't be underestimated. I would venture to guess that it was a far more difficult task for Hawkins to play Poppy than it was for Kate Winslet, who won a Golden Globe for best performance in a drama the same year Hawkins won hers for her performance in "Happy-Go-Lucky", to play April Wheeler in the overwrought "Revolutionary Road." Nothing against Winslet, of course, who is a fine actress, but giving a character like Poppy who is shamelessly bubbly, good natured, free willed and wants to make everyone around her as happy as she is, the depth that she does is remarkable.

I rarely recommend films solely for the performances of its actors but I certainly have no reservations recommending "Happy-Go-Lucky" solely for the performances of Hawkins and Marsan.