Happy-Go-Lucky 2008

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: 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. Read more

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

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: 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. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Leigh pushes the story in a more interesting direction, asking whether people find happiness or simply will it on themselves. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: I don't know how Mike Leigh does it. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Happy-Go-Lucky doesn't provide many insights (even Poppy seems ultimately unsure about whether happiness can be a permanent condition), but it does provide a little joy -- and that's worth celebrating, at the movies and elsewhere. Read more

Noel Murray, AV Club: The opening scenes of Mike Leigh's latest slice-of-life dramedy Happy-Go-Lucky introduce a protagonist who appears psychologically disordered at worst, and highly annoying at best. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Expertly directed by Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky is not only joyous but substantial. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: 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. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: The way these two characters react to each other while staying completely in character displays Leigh's method the way nothing else can. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: 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. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: It's a small, radiant gem in a movie season cluttered with rhinestones. You leave the theater feeling both clearheaded and buoyant. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: 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. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: 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. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: 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. Read more

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: The intentions of this oddity are muddled, but the small portraits of ordinary people choosing their path through the daily range of depression and delight are fully alive. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: It's a powerful argument for optimism. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Writer-director Leigh, maintaining a deceptively freewheeling tone throughout, creates a comedy that's also something much more. Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: Happy-Go-Lucky is triumphant proof that a creative middle way is always possible. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Happy-Go-Lucky ultimately charms -- just like its dizzy, disarming heroine. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: Poppy is upbeat — so relentlessly upbeat that it won't take long before you're wondering just how the director plans to wipe the smile off her face. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: 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. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Poppy, memorably played by Sally Hawkins, is one of those individuals who sees every glass as half-full. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: 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. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: 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. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Oddball and ingenious. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The buoyant tone of Leigh's latest, Happy-Go-Lucky, is such an unexpected and welcome change-of-pace. For his part, Leigh is just as grumpy as ever, but he has produced a motion picture that can best be described as optimistic. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: 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. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: A picture so seemingly light that it might be hours (or even days) before you realize how deep and rich it really is. Read more

Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle: The key to enjoying the film, a minor effort by Leigh, is warming up to Poppy. Her bubbly personality may be too much for some. She's like a walking, talking smiley face. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: The trouble is that the movie in which Poppy does, in fact, exist never quite rises to her level. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Susan Walker, Toronto Star: 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. Read more

Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out: Read more

David Fear, Time Out: We take Mike Leigh's gifts for granted, knowing the collaborative nature of his filmmaking will inevitably produce something brimming with humanity. Yet what the director and cast do with this character study is miraculous. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: It's a funny film - a surprise perhaps after 'Vera Drake' - and, crucially, it aches with truth. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: 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. Read more

Alissa Simon, Variety: As usual, Leigh's trademark extended rehearsal process pays off with vivid characterizations from ensemble cast. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: 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. Read more