Happy-Go-Lucky

When Poppy, a primary school teacher in North London, has her bike stolen, her reaction is not anger but sadness at never getting to say goodbye to it. The film presents that character not as silliness but as a strict choice. Sally Hawkins won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at Berlin and the Golden Globe. The Oscar nomination never came, one of the most discussed omissions of that year, while Mike Leigh was nominated for Best Original Screenplay. The film's second centre is Eddie Marsan's driving instructor Scott. During preparation Marsan thought he was working on a heavy drama and only realised the comedy once he began rehearsing with Hawkins. The character's repeated En-ra-ha came out of Aleister Crowley recordings Marsan listened to while improvising his way into the part. Leigh used his usual method: building characters one to one with the actors, then bringing them together and finding the story through rehearsal. The driving scenes were shot with five hidden cameras while the actors genuinely drove, with Leigh lying on the floor behind the front seats, so reactions to real events outside the car ended up in the film. It grossed 18.7 million dollars worldwide. Who it is for: viewers who like character-driven British films with no plot. Who it is not for: anyone who will find Poppy's relentless cheer exhausting. The film imposes it deliberately for the first half hour.