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4/23/2022

Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) - Leigh celebrates Poppy the optimist

 

+ Best English Movie of the Year + Breakthrough Actress of the Year: Sally Hawkins 

 

Co-star Sally Hawkins flashes pearly whites and lovely hair on this brightly colored poster for Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky


Poppy is a primary school teacher, who attends flamenco lessons, lives with a good friend and also takes driving lessons with a driving instructor with anger issues. Poppy, on the other hand, is an optimist and a humorist.

 

Happy-Go-Lucky is written and directed by great English filmmaker Mike Leigh (Bleak Moments (1971)). 

When one gets past the very silly and a bit annoying elements of Poppy's persona, she also turns out to be a very charming, thoughtful, intelligent and sympathetic acquaintance, and Sally Hawkins (An Education (2009)) has a star-making turn in the part. Eddie Marsan (A Kind of Murder (2016)) is also extraordinary as the driving instructor. 

Leigh interweaves lots of colors here, - especially hopeful green, - into a refreshing, plot-neglecting, episodic film, which is a kind of person type portrait more than anything else. Happy-Go-Lucky also has a terrific scene with a schizophrenic

 

Related posts:

Mike LeighAnother Year (2010) or, Life in England

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

All or Nothing (2002) - Leigh wrangles more working class destinies with great performances 

 




Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: Unknown, projected at 4 mil. $

Box office: 18.6 mil. $

= Uncertain, but likely a big hit (projected return of 4.65 times its cost)

[Happy-Go-Lucky premiered 12 February (Berlin International Film Festival) and runs 118 minutes. The UK Film Council supported the production with 1.41 mil. £ (approximately 1.82 mil. $). Shooting took place in England, including in London. The film opened #40 to a 73k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #19 and in 202 theaters, grossing 3.5 mil. $ (18.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 3.1 mil. $ (16.7 %) and France with 2.9 mil. $ (15.6 %). If made on a realistic 4 mil. $ budget, the film would rank as a big hit. It was nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, lost to Dustin Lance Black for Milk. It also won 2/3 British Independent Film award nominations, was nominated for 2 European Film awards and won 1/2 Golden Globe nominations, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Leigh returned with Another Year (2010). Hawkins returned in An Education (2009); Marsan in Hancock (2008); and Alexis Zegerman (Albatross (2011)) in Storm (2009). Happy-Go-Lucky is certified fresh at 93 % with a 7.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]


What do you think of Happy-Go-Lucky?

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