REEL Review: HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
October 11th, 2008
By Alexander B. Huls, theREELaddict
(With HAPPY-GO-LUCKY hitting limited theatres today, theREELaddict is reposting the recent Toronto International Film Festival review of the movie.)
When most people hear a film described as a character study, serious movie buffs usually know to read that as a heads-up that the film (especially one directed by the somber Mike Leigh) is going to be depressing, following some emotionally unsatisfied character who just can’t seem to find happiness in life, love, or work. In an interesting flip, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY is a character study of a person you won’t find depressing at all.
Poppy is the kind of character you almost certainly have bumped into at one point in real life. Little more than a child in a woman’s body, she’s always bubbly and happy, excessively friendly to any and everyone, and seemingly deflates all seriousness around with humor. Her demeanor seems so excessively chipper that we - like we would in real life - not only might find it horribly annoying, but might accuse Poppy of suffering from a crippling bout of delusion or naiveté. After all anyone who finds her bicycle stolen and simply bemoans that she didn’t have a chance to say goodbye, and turns right around to see it as a chance to finally learn how to drive, is at once someone who us members of a generally cynical and unhappy society (though we would disguise that as “realistic” or “pragmatic” society) would question as someone who isn’t living entirely healthy.
Initially, watching Poppy maker her way through the unstructured, slice-of-life narrative structure of the film, you’ll most likely feel her grate on your nerves. You’ll even be tempted to think she’s little more than a superficial caricature, as shallow as her appreciation for the seriousness of life. The delight of watching HAPPY-GO-LUCKY is being proven wrong.
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