The Case for the Carefree

Following the urging of Moosetastic, here I go then with a review of Happy Go Lucky, the latest film by Mike Leigh. A film about a youngish London teacher and the people she meets. And a film not without controversy because, to be honest, the lead character is damned annoying.

It does seem a bit cynical to be so annoyed by a character who is so guileless, so positive, so energetic. It is also true that, in real life, quite a few people would barely be able to resist the urge to slap Poppy a few dozen times.

But the movie is all about extremes – from the exuberant Poppy, to her mortifyingly negative and bigoted driving instructor, to her strong and passionate dancing instructor, to the bumbling homeless, to her slacker sister, and to her anally retentive other sister. Only the awesomely dry Zoe acts in a manner that would be considered “on kilter”, but that same steadiness comes at the cost of – in the eye of the camera lens at any rate – a lack of imagination and exuberance of her own.

I found myself enjoying the film, as the extreme always makes an impression, though at the same time it was hard to actually warm to Poppy. The random derelict encounter seemed to come from nowhere and had the people I was with metaphorically scratching their heads as to the point of the scene. Moosetastic was obviously of the ilk that this scene appealed to, as his analysis makes complete sense in hindsight; but at the time, I felt like I had wandered into another film and my mind wandered accordingly.

The odd thing though is that real life is full of these people and these incidents. They are, really, what life is about. The extreme and wacky do tend to be fun if occasionally obnoxious and even toxic; there are people out there convinced Big Bruvver is out there stamping on the rights of the individual; there are the disenfranchised and the militantly enfranchised. And all of these different people do (well, can) meet in the most extraordinary ways, either by accident or design. I know because I have met a few people like this myself. Of course, I tend to see myself as a Zoe character in my life, but then, I am sure everyone would.

The movie shows the world through the eyes of Poppy, but for me, the film was less about her and her life, and more about her and everyone else. Because Poppy was so open to new experiences and so non-judgemental about most people (sometimes condescendingly so, perhaps), she was able to meet and interact with people in ways that the socialisation of most people would not permit.

So, while I am not convinced this is one of my favourite films (as Poppy really was annoying), on a different level, I do appreciate Happy Go Lucky. Though I doubt I will see it again…

Verdict: The film suffered from chronic mood swings and a depressingly chirpy lead, but going into Happy Go Lucky in the right accepting frame of mind would probably be the most rewarding way. 6 smiley faces out of 10.