having never really bought into the whole mike leigh obsession that seems to plague most film criticism, it would be an unfair of me to claim that i wasnt anticipating happy-go-lucky somewhat. the general buzz around the piece dictated that my interest was piqued, so it was with that in mind that the film was viewed. unfortunately i was left feeling almost indifferent to the entire film. there were moments of greatness (the early cab scenes between scott and poppy are nothing short of hilarious brilliance) but the underlying problem remains in that which many have mentioned in the past - the character of poppy is just too annoying. my only previous run in with sally hawkins was in two of leigh's previous films; all or nothing and vera drake, and in both she plays very different characters to that of poppy, which says to me that it isnt sally hawkins per se that is annoying, but the character instead. the character is said to be a love them or hate them experience, and for me it was just far too over the top. one other area that grates is the way in which mike leigh portrays the working class. i find it to be patronising at best, and totally off the mark. i couldnt help but find the irony in the use of the song 'common people' by pulp in one scene absolutely hilarious. the song is a scathing attack on class tourism, and also manages to sum up the way i feel that leigh looks upon the lower classes. a credit crunch amelie, the success of happy-go-lucky is dependent on how much of poppy one can stomach.
I also wasn't overly familiar with Leigh when I saw the film. I knew a lot of him but hadn't seen many of his films. I was, however, a fan of producer Simon Channing Williams' work with Fernando Meirelles. He has a long, ongoing partnership with Leigh and so gave an introduction to the film followed by a Q&A at my local cinema, so I went along to the South West premier. I really liked the film. I hadn't seen a lot of Leigh films as they are the kind of films I feel you have to be in a certain mood for. Happy-Go-Lucky is more my kind of film and I liked what the film had to say about optimism. I liked Poppy as a character and how she sees the good in everything. I also love your comment "a credit crunch amelie" and totally agree.
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