Happy-Go-Lucky: Critic Reviews

The sunshiny primary-school teacher nicknamed Poppy (Sally Hawkins) in Mike Leigh's exuberant comedy Happy-Go-Lucky is the kind of relentless optimist one might worry about in real life.

Happy-Go-Lucky is closely tuned to the pulse of communal life, to the rhythms of how people work, play and struggle together.

In the factory-farmed blandness of the movies, Happy-Go-Lucky has a strong, real taste.

It is a decidedly clear-eyed exploration of the challenges of being happy. And, as such, it's both an enjoyable comedy and a fascinating character study.

The British actress Sally Hawkins delivers a nervy, utterly captivating tour de force performance in Happy-Go-Lucky, Mike Leigh's transporting new film.

Happy-Go-Lucky isn't one of Leigh's epic social canvases like Secrets & Lies or even Topsy-Turvy; rather, it's an edgy character study whose message only gradually emerges.

At the very least, the spectacle of Poppy's devotion and desire, not to mention her all-around sunny disposish, left this viewer feeling unaccountably happy -- at least for the moment.

Is it possible to enjoy the company of the world's most irritating woman? Mike Leigh's surprisingly sunny dramedy makes a pretty good case that, in fact, it is.

I don't know how Mike Leigh does it.

I've never used this cliche in a review before, and God forbid I ever use it again, so pay close attention: Happy-Go-Lucky is the feel-good movie of the year.

The movie isn't witty or memorable, but it keeps you on edge, and it's the first war-on-terror film to weave its anti-U.S. politics so deeply into the narrative that the characters don't need to speechify.

Happy-Go-Lucky is triumphant proof that a creative middle way is always possible.

Sally Hawkins been in movies before, including Leigh's "Vera Drake" and Woody Allen's "Cassandra's Dream," but this is her star-making role. She was named best actress at Berlin 2008. I will deliberately employ a cliche: She is a joy to behold.

The new Mike Leigh film, Happy-Go-Lucky, is a real pleasure, and besides being Leigh's most buoyantly comic feature it's a marvelous showcase for Sally Hawkins, who has worked twice before with the British writer-director.

Leigh pushes the story in a more interesting direction, asking whether people find happiness or simply will it on themselves.

Oddball and ingenious.

Sally Hawkins, in a blinding, Oscar-worthy piece of acting so good you barely see it, plays Poppy, a perpetually upbeat elementary schoolteacher in London.

Expertly directed by Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky is not only joyous but substantial.

Mr. Leigh has executed a richly exuberant entertainment for our troubled times, and deserves still another of my honorary Oscars for his astoundingly skillful effort.

As usual, Leigh's trademark extended rehearsal process pays off with vivid characterizations from ensemble cast.

Poppy, memorably played by Sally Hawkins, is one of those individuals who sees every glass as half-full.

Hawkins wears her grin in almost every scene, but she gives us hints that this dizzy 30-year-old is deep, as are the disappointments that might have caused Poppy to don this mask. It's a performance of sustained, childlike wonder and adult wit.

Coming from the man who made his name as a director of often grim social-realist films such as Vera Drake, All or Nothing and Secrets & Lies, Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky strikes one as a film fantasy.

As refreshing as it is to find a movie that leaves you smiling, it's something much rarer to discover a film that makes you think about what a commitment to happiness really means.

A picture so seemingly light that it might be hours (or even days) before you realize how deep and rich it really is.