Happy-Go-Lucky
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BY L. KENT WOLGAMOTT/Lincoln Journal Star
“Happy-Go-Lucky” is a charmer, a portrait of a big-hearted, eternally optimistic English schoolteacher who’s a bit goofy, kind of irritating and altogether lovable.
Her name is Poppy, and she’s played by Sally Hawkins. If there’s any justice, you’ll hear Hawkins’ name when Oscar nominations are announced in a couple months.
Written and directed by Mike Leigh, who crafts his characters from the ground up, Poppy emerged from a series of conversations between the director and his star, and she’s as natural as they come.
4 stars
Director: Mike Leigh
Cast: Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Alexis Zegerman, Kate O’Flynn
Rated: R (for language)
Running Time: 1 hour, 58 minutes
Now Showing: Ross
The Reel Story: Hawkins gives the best female performance of 2008 as a relentlessly optimistic English elementary school teacher in this charming picture that follows her through a few weeks in her life.
Note: The Ross is offering a special discounted admission price to all screenings of “Happy-Go-Lucky” to all elementary, middle and high school teachers. Tickets are $6 for evening screenings and $5 for matinees. Just present your staff ID at the Ross Box Office when buying your ticket to receive the discount.
The tone for the picture is set in its opening scene when Poppy rides her bike to a teeming London marketplace. Entering a bookshop, she avoids “The Road to Reality” (“Don’t want to be going there,” she says) and heads for the kids’ section.
Leaving the store, she finds her bike has been ripped off. But instead of getting angry, she is sad she didn’t get to tell her bike goodbye and, when she gets home, sets up an appointment to learn to drive.
That brings her into contact with driving instructor Scott (Eddie Marsan), an agitated man who is Poppy’s polar opposite. Their contrasts provide much of the tension in the film, but “Happy-Go-Lucky” is not a movie about one couple.
Instead, the free-spirited Poppy bounces through life, attending flamenco classes with the school’s guidance counselor, going out on the town with her roommate Zoe (Alexis Zegerman) and sister Dawn (Kate O’Flynn) and doing her best to brighten the lives of her elementary school students.
A joker of the highest order, Poppy never stops trying to make the world a better place, even when she shouldn’t — as in her encounter with a mentally ill homeless man (a superb Stanley Townsend).
Even when things turn glum (the music is a key to the movie’s tones), Poppy can’t stay down for long. In some circumstances, that’s a little awkward and offsetting. But that’s who she is.
“Happy-Go-Lucky” takes its structure from Poppy’s haphazard life, moving from episode to episode, some of them related, some of them not. In typical Leigh fashion, everything seems real and lived in and connects instantly.
But “Happy-Go-Lucky” is a far cry from usual Leigh fare. His last picture was 2004’s “Vera Drake,” the very dark, true story of an English woman who did illegal abortions that earned Imelda Staunton a Best Actress nomination.
Hawkins deserves those kind of accolades for Poppy. Hers is the year’s best performance by an actress, a consistently captivating, genuine portrayal of a unique young woman.
Her work, of course, wouldn’t have been as good without solid acting from those around her. Marsan’s seething Scott is as real and memorable as Poppy; Zegerman is a charmer; and even small roles, like Karina Fernandez’s flamenco instructor, ring true.
“Happy-Go-Lucky” is bright and colorful, a rarity in contemporary English films. That fits the tone of this charming, uplifting movie. It isn’t quite as upbeat and optimistic as the unforgettable Poppy, but it comes close.
Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.
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