I recently watched a movie called Happy-Go-Lucky starring a relatively unknown actress called Sally Hawkins. But she has gained instant recognition after the film won an Oscar. It comes from England-a land that has produced many a greats. This movie is not one that is particularly epic or brilliant. Its more of a fun, light, cute little film you can see with friends or when you need a pick me up. There is a deeper underlying message behind it though which is evident at the end.
The story revolves around Poppy, a very energetic and quirky woman who lives in London with her best friend. You either love Poppy, or despise her. She is either this very funny, upbeat person with whom you'd like to be friends with-or- an annoyingly chipper person who you'd like to shoo away with a stick or a disturbed raccoon. Life seems to test Poppy on all levels. In the start, she tries to begin a little chat with a bookstore keeper, and he flat out refuses to acknowledge her existence. Soon afterwards, she discovers her favorite bike is stolen. Now you or I would probably be cursing the heavens at this point, but not Poppy. Its almost inhuman how she manages to brush off the ugly aspects of life and only focus on whats ahead, and how to take the positives out of a negative.Throughout the film, we meet Poppy's various circle of friends and family, and discover she's a schoolteacher, trampoline enthusiast, and a lover of all things unusual and uninhibited. One recurring story in the film is how Poppy decides to take driving lessons after the theft of her beloved bicycle, and encounters a rather strange driving instructor named Scott. He has a very harsh, cynical, and dark outlook on life that parallels Poppy's soft, positive and bright personality. Its almost like fate played a cruel trick by bringing these two together. Scott constantly yells at Poppy, while all she can do is laugh at his sudden anger outbursts at her bad driving. In the meantime, Poppy must deal with a young bully at her school and tries to uncover what is making him so violent, and develops a blooming relationship with the school's child psychologist in the process. In a creepy turn, Poppy discovers that Scott is actually madly in love with her and stalks out her home on off days. This leads to an intense confrontation where Poppy's blind optimism is successfully tested, and she must face Scott's anger and issues, and ultimately decides to end their driving sessions for his own good and her safety.
So to top it all off, Poppy and her best friend are sitting in a cute little boat in a cute little pond, having a nice time. Poppy's bff tells her she needs to be less nice and naive all the time and Poppy sort of agrees to disagree. Here we meet a woman who is impressively unaffected by life's harsh realities, and rather chooses to live her life on her own terms despite the constant negativity that seems to test her strong spirit. This is a movie with no particular plot. It plays out like a linear look at someones life, and for those who like a traditional beginning-middle-end film that is plot heavy, this movie is not for you. But for those who are not picky, and just like something that is not tasteless and overly structured, but has an interesting variety of characters and storyline, you'll probably like this. Its a film that teaches you to embrace your oddest quirks and not take life so seriously. Having a laugh and smiling in the face of all that is depressing once in a while can be more important than you think. Like a true movie critic, I'll rate this film with 3 out of 4 stars.
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