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Happy-Go-Lucky – 2008 Leigh
- It is not on that level of an
artistic achievement but I think Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky (probably more of a triumph for Sally Hawkins—who
is wonderful here– than Leigh himself) makes for an interesting pairing
with Leigh’s greatest work- Naked.
The 1993 masterpiece is dark, a story about a singular character (most of
Leigh’s work is about a family and/or ensemble) who is dark, angry at the
world— and here, we have the polar opposite- a genuinely positive, happy
person (mostly despite the ugliness in the world around her that seems
hell-bent on snuffing her happiness out)
- This is the world (and similar
title) of the auteur who gave us High
Hopes and Life is Sweet—here
the title is a pretty apt character description
- It starts with the theft of
Hawkins’ bicycle—you can’t be a cinema enthusiast and realistic like Mike
Leigh and not take this as at least a nod to the 1948 De Sica masterpiece Bicycle Thieves. Hawkins’ character
lets it roll right off her back- she laughs at it and it prompts her to
take up driving lessons—which is the main thing that drives this film (like
all of Leigh’s work it is really plotless)
- Her thesis is stated outright
early on— “It is mad out there…. gorgeous day for it” with her colorful
eclectic clothes (and flat), big hoop earrings
- This is observational cinema- we’re
in her life, her routine—she takes up Flamenco dancing, she has driving
lessons on Saturday at noon, she goes to work, she goes and gets a drink,
etc
- A real person- such rich
characterizations- eclectic, quirky, bracelets galore, genuinely good –
she can be a bit of a tough hang she’s so chirpy sometimes – and if you’ve
seen Billy Madison 77 times like
I have you can’t help but think of this being a feature film bout Miss
Lippy (Hawkins’ is a primary school teacher of course)– haha
- There is one wipe edit during a kindergarten
sequence – I think it’s the only one in the film and the only one in Leigh’s
career
- I found her
character to be instructional on life
- A gorgeous
setting of the frame (the film is not filled with these) under a rusted
industrial area as she tries to help a homeless man
- Eddie
Marsan is incredible here—angry, racist, sneering—and he’s coming to a
boil
- Again- this
isn’t on the level of Naked, or
even 2004’s (and Leigh’s previous film) Vera Drake but there are a few purposeful splashes of yellows
in the production design. If there was more of it we’d have a stronger
film. This is the anti-Naked
which was covered in blackness. There are yellows in the background of
Hawkins’ character as she jumps on the trampoline, the door of the man she
goes on a date with, her friends’ car, her shirt the day after the date
- It is
purposeful that we largely see her as a teacher and surrounded by other
teachers (Marsan is a driving teacher, the Flamenco dancer)
- Recommend but
not in the top 10 of 2008
Drake2020-07-03T10:28:38+00:00
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