Happy-Go-Lucky is, at long last, British writer-director Mike Leigh’s bright, shiny “Have a Nice Day” button of a movie about a cockeyed optimist in contemporary times. It begs the question, “Could Candide cut it in this cynical, depressed world?”Asked another way, “Why is that girl smiling—all the time?” That girl is a 30-year-old, perpetually pert primary schoolteacher in North London named Poppy Cross.The Sound of Music isn’t your kind of movie—but stick with it because she’s right and you’re wrong. It was an odd choice for a filmmaker to make—fraught with dangerous detours, in fact—but Leigh has never been one to follow the beaten path. Heretofore, for the most part, he has emotionally traveled on the dark side of the moon, dispensing somber meditations on the plights of a kind-hearted abortionist (Imelda Staunton in Vera Drake), an economically strapped and trapped cabbie (Timothy Spall in All or Nothing) and an abuse-spewing drifter from Manchester (David Thewlis in Naked).Plainly, the world was not prepared for Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky or a happy-go-lucky Leigh—and that was profoundly true of followers of the New York Film Festival where, like five previous Leighs (including High Hopes, Secrets & Lies and Topsy-Turvy), it received its official U.S…. Read full this story
- Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino Celebrates Birthday in Jail with Wishes from Wife and Castmates
- Supergirl Star Chyler Leigh Shares Behind-the-Scenes Look at Super Alex
- Coronavirus: Ex-England cricket star Ryan Sidebottom 'lucky' that wedding went ahead
- Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready Talks Prince, North Carolina Boycott
- That was close! Hilarious snaps show VERY lucky people who came seconds from disaster - including a man who almost set his black cat alight on the stove
- : Ronnie Ortiz-Magro Claims He 'Got Beat Up' the Night Before Mike's Sentencing
- Mike and Karen Pence face mounting questions after they got coronavirus testing without showing symptoms and received results just hours later while thousands of Americans can't get tests and wait days to see if they are infected
- Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino Is 'Doing Great' in Prison, Has Received 'Thousands of Letters'
- Trump on Romney's negative coronavirus test: 'I am so happy I can barely speak'
- Mike Pence to be greeted by giant LGBT dance party during Ohio visit
- Pauly D Saw Fyre Festival Founder Billy McFarland While Visiting Mike 'The Situation' in Prison
- McDonald's is cutting plastic toys from its Happy Meals and replacing them with non-plastic versions from 2021 to make them more environmentally friendly
- Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino Pictured in Prison for the First Time While Posing in Uniform
- Virus mutes happy hours in senior haven, but golf goes on
- Did Mike Pence Try to Talk with Gay Olympian Adam Rippon? What to Know About the Controversy
- 's Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino Shares His Final Moments Before Entering Prison
- Abi Morgan and Mike Bartlett are our new superstar dramatists
- Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino Befriended Fyre Fest Founder Billy McFarland in Prison
- Matthew Koma Wishes Wife Hilary Duff's Son Luca Happy Birthday: 'I Couldn't Be More Proud'
- Mike Modano: I’ll retire if Detroit makes Stanley Cup final
Mike Leigh becomes 'Happy-Go-Lucky' have 503 words, post on www.filmjournal.com at October 2, 2008. This is cached page on The Best Articles. If you want remove this page, please contact us.