We're told the main reason Slumdog Millionaire took the Oscar honors this year is that it was the sole feel-good fantasy in a lineup of downer dramas and "issue" films. Actually, ask most people twice and they'll say that WALL-E is the best all-around entertainment from last year, but Academy voters seem to prefer live humans in their Best Picture nominees. The movie yet to be discovered by most viewers that is really worth checking out is Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky. Miramax's marketing has sold it as a wacky comedy, which may disappoint viewers expecting a farce with big laughs. The English comedy-drama is about a unique woman who faces life with openness, curiosity, and joy.

North Londoner Poppy (Sally Hawkins) clearly enjoys being alive. She starts conversations with everyone she meets, opening with a cute remark or funny observation, and she doesn't let rejection or sarcasm get her down. Poppy lives in the same imperfect world as the rest of us, where bicycles are stolen and book clerks refuse to acknowledge one's presence. None of this gets Poppy down. If she isn't laughing outright, she's wearing a big smile. If she isn't smiling, she's about to break into one.

We first see Poppy dancing, drinking, and talking trash with her girlfriends. Her gang of twenty-somethings dresses like kids and acts up in public as if on a tear after curfew. That's when we discover that Poppy and her friends are all professionals, teachers, and artists with higher degrees. Poppy's younger sister is going after a doctorate. Poppy and her roommate Zoe (Alexis Zegerman) are primary schoolteachers who take their jobs very seriously. We watch the women develop a school activity that involves encouraging their students to make paper bird masks and then have fun flapping their wings as a group. It's not silly and it's not a stunt; it's a growth activity that encourages the children to come out of their shells, be creative, and socialize. That's Poppy's philosophy in a nutshell.

Director Mike Leigh has made light fare like the musical Topsy-Turvy but is known for films about the problems of Britons at the lower end of the economic scale, people who have difficulty getting by. His well-received, if terminally depressing, picture Naked (1995) is about slackers and drug addicts trying to eke out a livable existence. Since Happy-Go-Lucky lives in the same imperfect world, we worry that Poppy's trusting nature will be her undoing. We become alarmed when Poppy walks into a dangerous-looking vacant lot to investigate a homeless man with a speech defect, who talks and howls to himself. Poppy knows she can't help everyone, but she sincerely cares about strangers and isn't the type to look the other way.

Poppy interacts with an interesting array of associates and friends, including a colleague who takes her to a flamenco class. The Spanish dancing instructor tries to instill a roomful of "tea and marmalade" Englishwomen with a sense of fierce gypsy pride. While the other women set their jaws and narrow their eyes, Poppy's grin just gets bigger. She just wasn't made to fit into an arrogant gypsy mold.

Poppy's no Pollyanna; she doesn't carry a magic glow that solves all problems. Her younger sisters don't appreciate her positive nature. The student is moody and resentful. The married, pregnant sister is controlling and insecure. All Poppy can do is try to keep the peace.

Trouble finally comes with Scott, Poppy's driving instructor (Eddie Marsan of Hancock). Their personalities couldn't be more different. Scott is a spiteful, angry man holding back a fountain of rage. He's convinced that the government is out to victimize white guys like himself, and he harbors a near-psychotic need to blame others for his problems. Poppy clashes immediately with the absurdly inflexible Scott. She's partly at fault. She feels compelled to make constant jokes and teasing remarks, poking directly at Scott's psychic wounds. The disastrous driving lessons end with Scott furious, ready to spit blood.

Scott's social misalignment is almost identical to that of an unhappy 7-year-old student in Poppy's class, a kid that beats up on other students. A social worker determines that the boy's problem may stem from mistreatment at home. It seems very possible that a similar background may have contributed to Scott's antisocial behavior.

Things turn dark when Poppy discovers that Scott's been stalking her. Scott has interpreted Poppy's teasing as sexual interest. He's worked up a relationship that doesn't exist and can't handle seeing Poppy dating another man. When Scott suddenly begins to drive like a maniac, Poppy realizes that things have gotten way out of hand.

Happy-Go-Lucky goes entirely against the grain of today's crude comedies. It has plenty of laughs, but it also encourages us to question how people relate to one another. Poppy's a unique character, but she also represents a personal philosophy that needs to be encouraged. A feel-good experience that doesn't insult one's intelligence, Happy-Go-Lucky is last year's most satisfying comedy-drama.

Miramax's DVD of Happy-Go-Lucky is a fine enhanced transfer of this widescreen winner, with bright colors and great sound. Turning on the English subtitles is advised to aid in interpreting the thick North London argot. The disc includes two featurettes with director Leigh and actors Eddie Marsan, Alexis Zegerman, and Sally Hawkins. We're told that the director built the movie around his lead actress; the delightful Ms. Hawkins does indeed tend to finish thoughts with a giggle. Leigh approached the movie just as he does his more serious stage dramas. Marsan and Hawkins (who took home a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy), both now positioned to become major stars, talk about spending months working up their character's back-story. Happy-Go-Lucky is character-driven in a way that few movies are; every scene seems entirely spontaneous.

My solitary gripe about Happy-Go-Lucky is that Miramax hasn't announced a Blu-ray disc!

Glenn Erickson
reviews online at DVD Savant

March 16, 2009

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