Netflix Holiday Movie Review: “A Boy Called Christmas” (2021) & “A Castle for Christmas” (2021)

The Netflix equivalent of putting up your Christmas tree and/or starting your holiday shopping the day after Thanksgiving, this year, the streaming service's version of Black Friday comes in two new high profile, high caliber Christmas movies which are scheduled to premiere on Friday, November 26.

Inspired by the question “was Father Christmas ever a boy?” which was posed by author Matt Haig's son, the first film, from “Monster House” director Gil Kenan, is a gorgeously crafted, old-fashioned fairytale adaptation of Haig's bestselling 2015 British children's book “A Boy Called Christmas.”

Tonally a cross between C.S. Lewis, Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Dickens, J.K. Rowling, and Roald Dahl in its balance of darkness, magic, heart, and light, Kenan's film begins with a framing device straight out of “The Princess Bride.”Arriving at their home late at night, a great aunt played by the irreplaceable Maggie Smith tells the tale of the brave boy we'll all eventually know as Father Christmas to her young relatives at bedtime. Next, switching to a different time and place, we move away from contemporary London as Smith's fable starts to play out before our eyes.

Still reeling from the loss of his mother, which is something shared by the characters in the modern setting as well, “Christmas” chronicles the plight of Nikolas (portrayed by top-notch relative newcomer Henry Lawfull). Fearing for the safety of the sole parent he has left (Michiel Huisman), Nikolas sets out on a perilous journey to the north to find his dad when he fails to return from his search for the village of Elfhelm in order to bring hope to us all.  

Populated by a who's who of great character actors, including Sally Hawkins, Kristen Wiig, Jim Broadbent, Toby Jones, and Stephen Merchant (priceless here as the voice of Miika the Mouse), the film looks and sounds like a dream, thanks to the effects team and production designer behind the “Paddington” movies, and a lovely score courtesy of the great Dario Marianelli. Additionally, it's fun to see the actors let loose, particularly Hawkins and Wiig who relish their Wicked Witch-like moments to eat up the screen. 

The type of film you could leave on in the background when you make cookies or put up your tree, while it's easy to lose yourself in the snowy spectacle of it all, disappointingly from a narrative standpoint, “A Boy Called Christmas” runs out of steam quickly. With episodic plot points, as the indefatigable, ever-determined, delightful Lawfull encounters one new character or problem after another in a by-the-numbers fashion, it grows increasingly repetitive as it continues on.

Although I am unfamiliar with the source material, I can't help but ask if perhaps its error might be an early “Harry Potter” franchise-style case of staying far too faithful to the book. Needless to say, of course, young fans of Haig's novel are sure to love seeing every moment come to life. For the rest of us, however, despite some beautiful revelations that come to light near the end of the movie, its muddled second act makes it feel twice as long as the first, and I think most viewers who don't know Haig's novel will grow restless as soon as the storyline begins to wander.

Still, from the jaw-dropping 4k presentation where even the opening sequence of Smith walking down a light-filled city street feels painterly (and indeed I wondered but really didn't care if it was CG), “A Boy Called Christmas” is a stellar technical achievement from these talented craftsmen, even if it doesn't fully work for me as a film overall. Not nearly as successful as “Monster House” or Kenan's wonderful adaptation of “City of Ember,” (of which I might be the only fan and still wish for a sequel), he's such a great director that regardless of the film's shortcomings, I look forward to seeing what he'll do next.

Incidentally, it turns out that looking forward is exactly what romance author Sophie Brown (Brooke Shields) realizes she needs to do at the start of director Mary Lambert's picturesque holiday romcom travelogue “A Castle for Christmas.” 

Whereas “A Boy Called Christmas” was made for the kids, “A Castle for Christmas” is Netflix's present for teens and adults. It comes in the form of a fun, fluffy, snowflake light hybrid of the kinds of seasonal romances that Lifetime and the Hallmark Channel produce with alarming frequency and the sassier UK romcoms that Hugh Grant made popular back in the '90s. 

Centered on Shields' Brown, the plot of "Castle" is incredibly straightforward.  Having killed off the romantic hero of her dozen bestselling novels after a messy divorce, Sophie Brown incurs the wrath of her heartbroken legion of fans who want their dream man back. In desperate need of a change of scenery, she journeys to Scotland to not only hide out and write the next book in her popular Emma Gale romance series but also visit the castle that her late father loved while growing up as the son of the groundskeeper there. 

Having barely arrived in her new surroundings, Sophie finds new friends quickly when she joins the knitting club in the pub of the inn where she's staying. The same dynamic we encountered in Netflix's outstanding (and much more substantive) adaptation of the acclaimed novel “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society," in “Castle,” the scenes that producer-star Shields shares with her motley knitting crew are absolutely delightful.

Still, as the romance author she's portraying here knows, you can't have a love story without a male lead, and thankfully, for that we have Cary Elwes getting his scowl on as the sour, curmudgeon-like Duke of said castle, who eventually melts under Sophie's charms.

Phenomenally predictable to anyone who's ever seen a romantic comedy before, while the pair are excellent in their roles, Sheilds and Elwes' chemistry does leave a little something to be desired, although that's likely more the fault of their underdeveloped characters than the actors in question, who aren't given a whole lot with which to work.

One of those movies where the credits reveal that it was written by a committee of four different writers, it feels like certain screenwriters were hoping to emphasize the knitting club as well as develop a potential B or C romantic subplot, and others were more clearly focused on the castle angle. All in all, it's a bumpy yet nonetheless, above-average cheery holiday romance.

Featuring a welcome cameo by Drew Barrymore that bookends the film as she first appears in a slightly cringeworthy over-the-top introduction to Sophie Brown who loses it live on Barrymore's talk show (which Shields plays too broadly), Barrymore returns at the end during the final credits in a very funny two-hander between the two women.

Targeted to Gen X, it's ideally suited to those from the era who grew up watching Shields and Barrymore, were dazzled by Lambert's iconic Madonna music video “Like a Prayer,” and frightened by her adaptation of “Pet Semetary,” and fell in love with “Castle” leading man Cary Elwes in “The Princess Bride.” And indeed, Netflix is smart to aim for this demographic. 

Usually overlooked in seasonal fare that's often developed with late teens and early twenty-somethings in mind, “A Castle for Christmas” is just the pleasantly diverting, if ultimately forgettable thing to settle in with after you spend Thanksgiving in the kitchen and Black Friday setting up that tree and/or starting to shop. With so much holiday stress on the horizon, 'tis the season for snowy movies after all.

Text ©2021, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. https://www.filmintuition.com  Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  Also, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made off my site through ad links. FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy or screener link of this title to voluntarily decide to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique. Cookies Notice: This site incorporates tools (including advertiser partners and widgets) that use cookies and may collect some personal information to display ads tailored to you etc. Please be advised that neither Film Intuition nor its site owner has any access to this data beyond general site statistics (geographical region etc.) as your privacy is our main concern.

DVD Review: Blue Jasmine (2013)

Now Available to Own   



Photo Slideshow   

While most people have a tendency to try and present the best version of themselves – spinning small yarns of white lies to protect feelings or reassure someone you really do like their homemade gift of scratchy wool polka dotted socks – there are those who lie so often and easily that it’s their main conversational approach from one situation to the next.

And in Woody Allen’s twenty-first Writer’s Guild nominated original screenplay Blue Jasmine, he’s created one of his most fascinating (anti)heroines in at least two decades of filmmaking via the eponymous Jasmine brought so unnervingly to life with unparalleled tenacity by Oscar winner Cate Blanchett in yet another remarkable performance that’s poised to garner her a second Academy Award.

Named Jeanette at birth but later changing that handle to the seductive Jasmine to suit the romantic life she dreams for herself as a hopeless fantasist, Blanchett’s Jasmine is the type of individual who’s taken the theory that we’re all the star of our own “movie” quite literally. Living a life of theatricality, Jasmine speaks in soliloquies to nobody in particular and hopes for a new plot twist whenever things don’t go her way.

One of those aforementioned individuals who’s told so many lies, half-truths and slightly altered accounts and likewise been lied to (and played like a record by her dreamy, manipulative older husband Hal) – when we first meet Jasmine it only takes us a moment to realize that she can no longer tell the difference between fact, fiction, reality or fantasy.

And while admittedly for a woman who’s been heartbroken and suffered a nervous breakdown in the past, the title Blue Jasmine fits accordingly, it doubles as a recurring theme in its own right as the start of the tale Jasmine tells to anyone who will listen how Hal met her standing alone at a party while the song “Blue Moon” was playing and swept her off her feet.

Moreover, that pitch-perfect “Blue Moon” lyric of Jasmine standing alone serves a dual purpose in Allen’s film as it also foreshadows Jasmine as a woman who will always be somehow left off center, off to the side, outside looking in at the real world she rejects when it’s judged side-by-side with her own fantasy.

In a telling flashback, Alec Baldwin's Hal confesses that he fell in love with her name which – because it is in itself a lie – reaffirms the fact that he fell in love not with the woman but with the idea or fantasy of her. Therefore, we realize that Hal not only never really knew this woman he called his wife at all but also – considering the way he created his Madoff like Ponzi schemes – preferred a life of magical reality than actual reality and therefore inspired Jasmine’s tendency to do the same before their lies all came crashing down like a house of cards.

A delicate romantic who is having a tough time getting back on her feet after she lost everything and was ostracized from her Park Avenue social circle following the FBI's arrest of her shady, philandering husband for Madoff-like crimes, Jasmine travels to San Francisco to stay with her adopted younger sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins).

Upon first glance, Jasmine seems like she’s wandered in from Tennessee Williams’s Glass Menagerie or Streetcar Named Desire as a Blanche DuBois type dependent upon the kindness of strangers. And it's a reference that fits indeed as further research reveals that Blanchett had recently played that role on Broadway and Allen had actually nixed a scene in Jasmine that took place on a streetcar for fear it would be deemed too much of a dead-on homage.

And while the hint of DuBois is a given, in my eyes however, I see Jasmine as a distinct Woody Allen character with roots in the auteur’s onscreen Annie Hall alter-ego Alvy Singer. In Allen's breakthrough mainstream success, he described himself in a youthful flashback featuring a Marilyn Monroe look alike as a person who always had a hard time telling the difference between imagined and actual reality.

Thus, a Williams/Allen hybrid by way of Blanchett – as the film opens Jasmine arrives in San Francisco and settles in with the hardworking, blue collar, divorced mother of two, Ginger. Revisiting the same complex sisterly sibling dynamic evident in Interiors and Hannah and Her Sisters, as the two women – a complete study in contrasts – try to make the best of the situation, it becomes obvious that Jasmine’s arrival is the equivalent of a powder keg ready to explode in Ginger’s relationship with her loving but hotheaded, fittingly-named boyfriend Chili (Bobby Cannavale).

Nosy and loud, intriguingly Chili is the only one able to see through all of Jasmine’s pretentions and phony heirs to call out the way she’s alternately neglected and taken advantage of Ginger in the past. Adding to this, the film relies on repeated flashback sequences to jump forward and backward in the narrative to offer us a glimpse at the unromantic reality behind the breakup of both sisters’ marriages.

Focusing on the way their relationships started to go downhill when Ginger and her then-husband (Andrew Dice Clay) visited Jasmine in New York and began to see the truth behind Hal’s façade as he two-timed Jasmine – the beginning of the end for all was set in motion when Jasmine foolishly talked her relatives into trusting their hard-earned life savings to Hal to invest.

A multilayered film that’s richly acted and interpersonally complex by way of the number of subplots and characters it’s able to successfully juggle without shortchanging any of them, Blue Jasmine further shows respect for its audience’s intelligence by unveiling the events of two different timelines simultaneously.

And due to its dense structure, a second viewing makes you appreciate the way it cleverly pays off on ideas and lines in one narrative a few acts later on in the second timeline. Yet perhaps Blue Jasmine’s greatest feat is in the way that it never foreshadows its most surprising character driven plot twist that leaves viewers stunned and likewise eager to go back and rewatch certain moments for a second or third time since it makes us rethink everything we thought we knew about a given character.

A daring film in which the whole success of Allen’s emotional rollercoaster hinges on an unreliable narrator that’s forever changing her story, getting lost in the past and altering the facts of any given situation to best deal with the crisis at hand – Blue Jasmine serves as a stunning showcase for Cate Blanchett’s unparalleled talent.

As much an exploration of what happens when the American dream falls apart as it is a portrait of a woman under the influence of fantasy, Blue Jasmine is as topical as it is timeless.

Not just Woody Allen’s strongest film since Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Jasmine is certain to have a much greater impact than Vicky in the future as one of his most rewarding contemporary classics that recalls the existential exploration of life on display in his ‘70s and ‘80s masterpieces. In other words – and much like its main character and leading lady – Blue Jasmine stands alone indeed.

Text ©2014, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

Blu-ray Review: All Is Bright (2013)

Now Available to Own   




Photo Slideshow  
 

Alternate Title: Almost Christmas

Similar to the way that ornaments and lights brighten up a Christmas tree, casting likable stars to play Christmas tree salesmen in Junebug helmer Phil Morrison’s melancholic holiday feature lightens up the tone of the otherwise darkly downbeat dramedy All Is Bright.

 

As two Canadian ex-crooks trying to go straight hustling trees for the month of December on a New York street corner, the pair of Pauls – Rudd and Giamatti – do some serious internal heavy-lifting, using their witty delivery and natural charisma to keep you invested in at times admittedly difficult-to-like script from TV’s Americans staff writer Melissa James Gibson.

But because they can’t be expected to make up for every flaw in the tonally uneven film, All Is Bright delivers extra star wattage in the form of scene-stealer Sally Hawkins who not only steals every viewers’ heart but nearly walks away with the entire film as Olga, a no-nonsense Russian who first befriends Giamatti’s Dennis while negotiating a tree purchase and delivery.

Having spent the last four years in jail, upon his release, veteran thief Dennis is crushed to discover that not only has his ex-wife (Amy Landecker) told his beloved daughter Michi that he’s dead but also that his family has moved on with someone else… in the form of his old partner-in-crime, Rene (Rudd).

Determined to get his daughter a present and with no other prospects in a dire economy, Dennis forms an uneasy alliance with Rene on the right side of the law after Rene confesses his plan to spend his half of the money marrying Dennis’s ex.

Facing stiff competition from Vermont tree farmers with gentle manners and a more professional display complete with music and decorations, Rene and Dennis rely on their old skill-sets to intimidate other sellers and fast-talk customers with money to burn.

Relying on his comedy background as a Judd Apatow MVP in films such as Anchorman and This is 40, Rudd shines in his role, improvising complete with a Quebecois accent to schmooze passersby and generate sales. Yet as fun as those moments are, unfortunately, scenes of levity are all too fleeting as his character too gets bogged down with Dennis in the overwhelming depression of the struggling first half.

Unbalanced and uneven at best, growing stronger as it builds on its characters to generate conflict, All Is Bright threatens to bore contemporary audiences completely and nearly does until Hawkins appears on the scene.

While she befriends the two and Dennis in particular, what she gets from him exactly is unknown as he never does make a single, uninvited kind gesture towards her, which is one of the major problems with the script. Namely, we just don't like our leading men all that much.

However, like Amy Adams in Junebug, Phil Morrison shoes that he knows how to let his leading ladies shine with some of Sally Hawkins’s best work since Happy-Go-Lucky.

Intriguingly relying on accents – at least initially to generate humor – from Rudd’s French Canadian cookie-cutter stereotype to Olga’s blunt Russian, the two use accents to comedic advantage as part of their weaponry of charm, winning us over more due to their performances than the film does as a whole.

Moving uneasily and manically in tone from gritty to sentimental -- while anyone familiar with basic plotting will be able to figure out how it will all end for Dennis’s Christmas present wish, ultimately the inspired whimsy of the final act’s Big Deal On Madonna Street twist on the film’s Gift of the Magi origin is just clever enough to make it worthy of a recommendation.

Nicely transferred to Blu-ray by Anchor Bay and boasting an Ultraviolet digital copy of the film you can stream or download on multiple devices, while Giamatti and Rudd’s turns as men on Santa’s naughty list hoping to create their own version of nice is strong indeed, it’s too bad that the film couldn’t meet them halfway without making us wait halfway through it for things to start getting interesting.

A strange blend of old-fashioned and new, although All Is Bright had the potential to be a modern day version of the type of film that was made so effectively well by Ernst Lubitsch or Preston Sturges in the ‘30s or ‘40s in the tale of an ex-con father trying to do right by a daughter who doesn’t even know he’s alive, the final result is a mixed bag at best.    

Text ©2013, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

DVD Review: Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)

Now Available on DVD

View Video Clips

Explore the Trailer & Photo Gallery

Read the Original Theatrical Review

Bookmark this on Delicious

Print Page

I. An Introduction

Near the end of 2008 as critics began compiling their Top 10 lists for their favorite films of the year, there seemed to be a recurring theme running throughout all of the articles. Namely-- at least as far as mainstream cinema was concerned-- both film fans and critics agreed that it was one of the weakest years in recent memory.

Typically, Top 10 lists are rather easy to put together because we're inundated with a large amount of superlative choices as you find yourself making hard decisions regarding which movies will make the cut and what ones will not. Usually it's an embarrassment of riches yet in '08, by the time December rolled around, most of us realized there were only one to three films that we felt exceptionally strongly about and thus, our lists were flooded with movies that in any other year, probably wouldn’t have made the final cut.

However, as a reviewer who consistently looks at film as a wonderful opportunity to scavenger hunt and find the hidden gems, overlooked independent releases, and those that have earned accolades and buzz at film festivals around the globe, I saw a much different side to 2008 than most mainstream critics and audiences. This is because, in addition to attending press screenings, I spent a lot of time actively seeking out the movies that either arrived in the art house for one week or don't get much play in a majority of theaters across America.

Simply put, to me 2008 was an incredibly strong year for foreign and independent films. However, casual moviegoers who were tired of the increasingly depressing Oscar bait fare( in our horrific economic climate) and understandably against paying astronomical ticket prices for movies that should come with a prescription for Prozac-- avoided the multiplex like the plague.

And sadly, whenever a genuine feel-great movie comes along and then nearly vanishes from the face of the Earth because it doesn’t have the major studio push given to something like Watchmen or The Dark Knight, everyone truly misses out on some little-seen treasures such as Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky.

While my first screening of the film was at our local Scottsdale International Film Festival-- at which director Mike Leigh was in attendance to introduce the film and chat about it afterward-- I was dismayed by the lack of play that followed for the critical hit which boasts a radiant “star is born” performance by Sally Hawkins in a role that should have earned her an Academy Award nomination.

In fact, Hawkins was deemed one of the earliest “female” sure-things for an Oscar nomination and while the Hollywood Foreign Press remembered the actress at the Golden Globes where she received the award for Best Actress (Musical or Comedy) and also nominated the film as Best Picture in the same category, shockingly Hawkins was left off the Oscar list.

Ironically the highly improvised film (typical of the legendary filmmaker Mike Leigh) received a sole nomination for Best Original Screenplay which is amusing since he's a master at letting the actors tell the story spontaneously but it’s ultimately Hawkins’ performance that makes you fall in love with the film. And unfortunately, the absence of her name reaffirmed yet again that comedic portrayals aren’t taken quite as seriously at the Oscars where tragedy always reigns supreme (save for a well-deserved Oscar for Penelope Cruz in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona and a nomination for Tropic Thunder's Robert Downey Jr.).

Now finally available as a beautifully transferred DVD (curiously at this point with zero plans I could find for a Blu-ray release), hopefully it will finally find the audience it deserved all along. However, before I jump in headfirst to discuss the extras included on the disc—to freshen your memory or introduce you to the film for the first time-- here’s the original theatrical review.

II. Original Film Review

Although looks can certainly be deceiving, from the moment we first see the infectious smile and brightly attired Poppy (Sally Hawkins) riding her bicycle through the streets of London, we are instantly drawn in by our heroine. Noteworthy as an unabashedly old-fashioned opening that's reminiscent of vintage MGM Golden Era films-- we're enchanted within moments of the credit sequence for Mike Leigh's delightfully life-affirming hug of a film, Happy-Go-Lucky.

As she greets passersby and waves to others whom we don't see in the overly long extended close-ups, it seems that Hawkins and Leigh (and thereby extension Poppy) are all breaking down the traditional wall between the audience and the art and greeting viewers directly.

If there is any inclusion for Oscar Gold that seems like a sure thing this year, I'd say one of the best bets is for the beguiling chameleon Hawkins to earn herself a nomination for Best Actress, despite the Academy's disillusionment with rewarding comedic performances. In her Berlin Film Festival award-winning performance, Hawkins has been given a star-making role in the tradition of Audrey Tautou in Amelie or Renee Zellweger in Jerry Maguire.

Although to be fair, she'd first impressed me earlier in 2008 with her work as Colin Farrell's wife in Woody Allen's underrated tragedy Cassandra's Dream. And following that, she gained wider recognition here in the states with her award-winning turn in the BBC/PBS joint broadcast of Masterpiece Theatre's adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion.

While admittedly in Happy, Poppy has the tendency to rattle on incessantly in trying to make the day of everyone she comes across on a regular basis and from the start, we're not sure if we'll be annoyed or enchanted by Poppy but Hawkins wins us over in a matter of seconds. Upon discovering that her bike was stolen, instead of exhaling a string of profanity or kicking the nearest post, Poppy feels remorse that she didn't have a chance to say goodbye but realizes that it's about time for the thirty year old single elementary school teacher to learn to drive.

It's during these driving lessons that Poppy's true character-- namely her humanity and integrity-- get tested as her racist and ultra-religious, obsessive instructor Scott (Eddie Marsan) tries chipping away at Poppy piece by piece. From critiquing her gaudy and revealing attire of clanging bracelets and Flashdance era 80's inspired clothing, he's especially irked by her high-heeled boots, which he vows are life-threatening when worn behind the wheel of a car. After surface level insults, gradually his attacks move onto Poppy herself and her endlessly sunny outlook and perpetual choice to be happy. And it's in these precious scenes that Hawkins has some great moments that really allow her to move beyond what may have been—in someone else's hands-- a one-dimensional, flaky character.



Prone to jumping on a trampoline at the end of a hard day to de-stress or coming up with creative arts and craft lesson plans for her students with her best friend and flat-mate of ten years Zoe (Alexis Zegerman) and younger sister Suzy (Kate O'Flynn), we follow Poppy through a trying short period of time.

And soon, the challenges in dealing with Scott exacerbate her other hurdles. Specifically, they include accidentally injuring her back, taking up Flamenco with a stormy and equally tempestuous teacher, getting to the bottom of a student's misbehavior along with a kindly social worker who has eyes for Poppy, and visiting her angry yuppie sister who resents what she feels are Poppy, Zoe and Suzy's inability to grow up.

Yet is Poppy living in denial or simply choosing an outlook that makes the darkness of the outside world bearable? One can decide for themselves but the bottom line is, coming off of the bleak but critically revered Vera Drake, it's nice to see British filmmaker Mike Leigh (Secrets and Lies, Topsy-Turvy) crafting something that's so full of optimism and good humor. Describing his work in Entertainment Weekly's Fall Movie Preview, he shared his belief that as far as he's concerned, “we're making an anti-miserabilist film, because we live in tough times and it's easy to be down about many things, about what we're doing to people in the world... [yet in the end, Happy-Go-Lucky is] a love letter to life.”

Although social and political situations creep into Poppy's daily pursuits, none more so than-- aside from Scott's anti-immigration rants-- in a heartbreaking scene where Poppy tries to chat with a rambling, mentally ill homeless man in a tense exchange. However, above all we're always reassured by the far wiser than one would've assumed leading lady who seems to take the greatest heartbreak in stride. Although she's finally told again that she personally can't make everyone happy, she argues that there's “no harm in trying” with a shrug or flip of the hair.

It's lines and actions like these that some would judge naive, yet I considered heroic given how tempting it is to feel like we're powerless in a society of rapid deterioration whether it's via war or the economy or just in the littlest things like strangers saying hi to one another or smiling at those who may be having a tough day. There's a lot to learn from Poppy and although I wouldn't recommend flying about on trampolines anytime soon or perhaps driving in ultra high-heels, it wouldn't hurt if we spent a day just trying to be a bit more considerate to our fellow man.

III. The DVD

Presenting the film in 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio that is enhanced for 16x9 televisions along with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, you’re already smiling before the movie even begins. Already launching into a depiction of life as viewed by Poppy, we're taken in promptly as we reach its brightly colored menu filled with pictures of the cast that pop up amongst flowers, butterflies, and hearts, that moves from left to right as though we're in the car with Poppy and Scott moving down Leigh's cheery road.

In addition to the feature-length audio commentary provided by Mike Leigh, the DVD contains two enjoyable featurettes titled “Behind the wheel of Happy-Go-Lucky,” and “Happy-In-Character.” The first featurette focuses single-mindedly on what filmmaker Mike Leigh felt was the most central to the success of the film -- more specifically, the driving scenes which heighten the tension in challenging both Poppy and Scott who couldn't be more different from one another.

Running just under five minutes, Mike Leigh referred to the driving scenes and the characters’ complicated relationship as “putting two bombs in a pressure cooker.” As Eddie Marsan reveals while he was preparing to play such a troubled character-- he was erroneously under the impression that similar to his work in Vera Drake-- he was making what he felt would be “a really serious movie.”

Of course by throwing Poppy into the car with him, the two spark right off the bat as Scott brings out the worst in her since as we learn by then Poppy lives to make people laugh. In addition to the emotional undertone in these scenes and the way they move from absolutely hilarious to a bit scary, audiences are literally let inside the car to see exactly how it was done.

In doing so, they illustrate the complexity of shooting inside a very tiny automobile with lipstick and high-definition cameras and as Leigh and cinematographer Dick Pope discuss turning Scott's vehicle into a mini recording studio complete with light and sound to capture everything. Moreover, Leigh jokes that he wasn't sure if he was more worried about his health lying in the cramped backseat or laughing through the scenes and ruining that takes.

Mike Leigh enthusiasts and those who are either just becoming fans of the filmmaker or were simply delighted by this unconventional, unexpectedly joyful film will definitely want to take in the roughly twenty-seven minute extra, “Happy-In-Character” which documents Leigh’s highly improvisational and unique filmmaking practice.

Inspiring the actors to completely build their characters right from birth to deciding their individual back-stories imagining what their favorite colors would be and the books they were reading, he gives his cast in amazing sense of confidence, teamwork, and freedom in their craft.

In ensuring that all of the departments work in tandem from costumes and makeup to production design, actress Alexis Zegernan (who portrays Zoe) describes the process as making a “leap into the unknown,” in describing the way in which she feels she got to know more about her character than she does about herself before ultimately Mike Leigh decides that it's okay for her character to meet another character.

Deciding to put certain characters together and seeing what happens, the brilliance of Leigh’s decision to pair Poppy with Scott manages to make the film that much more natural, unexpected, and completely compelling. As Zegerman continued, Leigh’s ultimate goal (in addition to making them feel “confident in character”) is instructing his actors to "just be" and reacts as they feel their character would in any given situation.

Pointing out that Mike Leigh wanted to tap into Sally Hawkins’ “energy and emotional generosity” along with his respect for her professional contributions as a character actor, Hawkins reveals that above all what Leigh wanted from her was “warmth” and the “lighter side of life.”

Describing her character as having a perpetually “naughty twinkle in her eye,” Hawkins first labels Poppy as a woman who “just doesn’t shut up,” and applauds the way she manages to consistently see the humor in everything. Enoying the challenge of playing someone who never judges others or herself and in fact, thinks she’s hilarious, Hawkins who confesses that “you can’t be down when you’re playing her,” ultimately listed her driving force as a naturally, incredibly curious soul who wants to learn more about life and what makes everyone she meets tick.

Described as “the antithesis” of Scott—in the end it’s Sally Hawkins’ splendid portrayal which is essentially the human embodiment of Leigh’s decision to craft a work that was about “openness and love,” in celebrating "the generosity of spirit.” Further celebrating his leading lady whom Eddie Marsan notes “everyone falls in love with her” as “a laughing Buddha without the weight,” Marsan makes one of the most astute pieces of character analysis in the featurette by explaining that at first, we feel that Poppy isn’t really living in or part of “the real world,” but then we begin to realize that perhaps, maybe “we’re not in the real world.”

A joyous and fully entertaining world to get lost in—Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky—is the type of sunny British import that has hidden levels of depth upon repeat viewings and is moreover one well-deserving of a place in your disc collection.

New on DVD & Blu-ray for the Week of 3/8/09

Jen's Pick of the Week

Milk

Bookmark this on Delicious

Print Page

Batman Anthology



Battle in Seattle



Ben X



The Best Years: The Complete First Season



The Boy in the Striped Pajamas



Brokeback Mountain [Blu-ray]



Cadillac Records



Caroline in the City: The Second Season



Cracker: The Complete Collection



Escape to Witch Mountain



Family Ties: The Complete Fifth Season



Get Smart: Season 3



Happy-Go-Lucky



Howard the Duck



Let the Right One In



Marie and Bruce



Milk



The Miracle Worker



Pinocchio



Primal Fear [Blu-ray]



Rachel Getting Married



Return from Witch Mountain



Role Models



Seven [Blu-ray]



The Shiralee



South Park: The Complete Twelfth Season



The Starter Wife: Season 1



Synecdoche, New York



The Transporter 3

Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)

Now Available on DVD

Read the In-Depth DVD Review

View the Trailer, Video Clips & Photos

Although looks can certainly be deceiving, from the moment we first see the infectious smile and brightly attired Poppy (Sally Hawkins) riding her bicycle through the streets of London, we are instantly drawn in by our heroine. Noteworthy as an unabashedly old-fashioned opening that's reminiscent of vintage MGM golden era films-- we're enchanted within moments of the credit sequence for Mike Leigh's delightfully life-affirming hug of a film, Happy-Go-Lucky. As she greets passersby and waves to others whom we don't see in the overly long extended close-ups, it seems that Hawkins and Leigh (and thereby extension Poppy) are all breaking down the traditional wall between the audience and the art and greeting viewers directly.

If there is any inclusion for Oscar Gold that seems like a sure thing this year, I'd say one of the best bets is for the beguiling chameleon Hawkins to earn herself a nomination for Best Actress, despite the Academy's disillusionment with rewarding comedic performances. In her Berlin Film Festival award-winning performance, Hawkins has been given a star-making role in the tradition of Audrey Tautou in Amelie or Renee Zellweger in Jerry Maguire.

Although to be fair, she'd first impressed me earlier in 2008 with her work as Colin Farrell's wife in Woody Allen's underrated tragedy Cassandra's Dream. And following that, she gained wider recognition here in the states with her award-winning turn in the BBC/PBS joint broadcast of Masterpiece Theatre's adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion.



While admittedly in Happy, Poppy has the tendency to rattle on incessantly in trying to make the day of everyone she comes across on a regular basis and from the start, we're not sure if we'll be annoyed or enchanted by Poppy but Hawkins wins us over in a matter of seconds. Upon discovering that her bike was stolen, instead of exhaling a string of profanity or kicking the nearest post, Poppy feels remorse that she didn't have a chance to say goodbye but realizes that it's about time for the thirty year old single elementary school teacher to learn to drive.

It's during these driving lessons that Poppy's true character-- namely her humanity and integrity-- get tested as her racist and ultra-religious, obsessive instructor Scott (Eddie Marsan) tries chipping away at Poppy piece by piece. From critiquing her gaudy and revealing attire of clanging bracelets and Flashdance era 80's inspired clothing, he's especially irked by her high-heeled boots, which he vows are life-threatening when worn behind the wheel of a car. After surface level insults, gradually his attacks move onto Poppy herself and her endlessly sunny outlook and perpetual choice to be happy. And it's in these precious scenes that Hawkins has some great moments that really allow her to move beyond what may have been—in someone else's hands-- a one-dimensional, flaky character.



Prone to jumping on a trampoline at the end of a hard day to de-stress or coming up with creative arts and craft lesson plans for her students with her best friend and flat-mate of ten years Zoe (Alexis Zegerman) and younger sister Suzy (Kate O'Flynn), we follow Poppy through a trying short period of time. And soon, the challenges in dealing with Scott exacerbate her other hurdles. Specifically, they include accidentally injuring her back, taking up Flamenco with a stormy and equally tempestuous teacher, getting to the bottom of a student's misbehavior along with a kindly social worker who has eyes for Poppy, and visiting her angry yuppie sister who resents what she feels are Poppy, Zoe and Suzy's inability to grow up.

Yet is Poppy living in denial or simply choosing an outlook that makes the darkness of the outside world bearable? One can decide for themselves but the bottom line is, coming off of the bleak but critically revered Vera Drake, it's nice to see British filmmaker Mike Leigh (Secrets and Lies, Topsy-Turvy) crafting something that's so full of optimism and good humor. Describing his work in Entertainment Weekly's Fall Movie Preview, he shared his belief that as far as he's concerned, “we're making an anti-miserabilist film, because we live in tough times and it's easy to be down about many things, about what we're doing to people in the world... [yet in the end, Happy-Go-Lucky is] a love letter to life.”



Although social and political situations creep into Poppy's daily pursuits, none more so than-- aside from Scott's anti-immigration rants-- in a heartbreaking scene where Poppy tries to chat with a rambling, mentally ill homeless man in a tense exchange. However, above all we're always reassured by the far wiser than one would've assumed leading lady who seems to take the greatest heartbreak in stride. Although she's finally told again that she personally can't make everyone happy, she argues that there's “no harm in trying” with a shrug or flip of the hair.

It's lines and actions like these that some would judge naive, yet I considered heroic given how tempting it is to feel like we're powerless in a society of rapid deterioration whether it's via war or the economy or just in the littlest things like strangers saying hi to one another or smiling at those who may be having a tough day. There's a lot to learn from Poppy and although I wouldn't recommend flying about on trampolines anytime soon or perhaps driving in ultra high-heels, it wouldn't hurt if we spent a day just trying to be a bit more considerate to our fellow man.