| Overall Grade: |
A+ |
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| Story: |
A+ |
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| Acting: |
A+ |
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| Direction: |
A+ |
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| Visuals: |
A- |
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Cheery and Blessed
by Jim B (movies profile)
Oct 9, 2008
11
of
15 people found this review helpful
An English Comedy with plenty of drama written and directed by Mike Leigh draws the audience in very slowly until you are found sitting at the edge of your seat wholly invested in the film, its stories, and the characters in it.
Poppy (Sally Hawkins) knows how to make Lemonade from a day filled with Lemons and still possesses enough energy and strength to right your ship making a good evening for all who come in contact with her. Poppy’s care free, happy go lucky air fortifies her innate ability to know what is important and what is not. This is a film of her life’s dance.
The film opens with a smiling Poppy riding her bicycle through the streets of her small city. She places her bike next to a railing attaching it there and goes about her day of shopping the market. She finds her way to a small book store whose clerk she takes an immediate fancy to; Poppy flirts with him but his only capable reply to her is a scowl. When she heads back to retrieve her bike she is surprised to find it has been taken. She says with fondness to the empty space where her bike once was, “I didn’t even get to say goodbye”.
Poppy has a room mate Zoë (Alexis Zergerman) who is her best friend and they’ve been flat mates for the past decade. Poppy and Zoë are kindergarten (English equivalent) teachers who enjoy their positions in life. The only thing missing in their lives at this time are suitable men. Poppy is brightly put together usually supported in high-heeled boots, either leopard spotted or all black, and red or black fishnet stockings. Her fashion choices are all her own.
Happy Go Lucky Poppy lives in stark contrast to the world that surrounds her. At first you would think Poppy needs a visit to a psychiatrist and much medication to right her ship, but when we get to know her it becomes obvious it is not she who needs and adjustment it is that world around her that could use the adjustment. In the films final scene Poppy and Zoë are rowing a row boat on a large pond surrounded by beautiful park space of well groomed grounds; Poppy receives a phone call from her new beau and says to him, the bathroom has overflowed, but it’s okay for they have managed to find a boat; this is probably the best way to describe this enchanting film of positive messages.
There are several scenes that risk it all when Mike Leigh places Poppy in danger where she could lose her perspective if not her life. They are powerful scenes of love and sadness. Writer Mike Leigh has Poppy in search of something but she doesn’t know what it is. By films end she finally discovers what that is. It is something she’s been in possession of all her life, a sense of humor and a gentle spirit. She also discovers she needn’t try to mend the world and those in it, that the world as bad as it is sometimes, has to do it on its own.
This is a well photographed, written, directed, and acted film. Sally Hawkins carries this film and takes the audience on a splendid trip to the land of feeling good about ourselves. When leaving the cinema you’ll notice a little bounce in your step that you may not have noticed before. |
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