In first coming to review Happy-Go-Lucky I gave the film a green 'recommendation'; indicating a general or broad recommendation, but that didn't quite sit comfortably with me and after some discernment I have now realised why and changed my overall opinion.

First of all, the main positive aspect of the film is that (personally) I saw it as something of a good, albeit I suspect unintentional, allegory in representing the different gender psyches typical of our age. Scott, the neurotic driving instructor, contained within him so much anger and rage that is sadly too typical of men today. This gets to the point where, despite being a driving instructor, he recklessly displays his anger through his frantic driving - culminating in a screeching smoking-wheel break stop at the side of the road. I'm sure most of us in the west have witnessed this kind of angry driving in one form or another. In an earlier conversation Poppy and her flatmate Zoe (bottom left of the six photos above) ask "where have all the good men gone? - where are they hiding?" to which the conclusion is "they haven't got the balls to show themselves". I took this as implicit acknowledgement of the general crisis in good male role models and leaders in society; particularly good fathers. And leading on from this crisis in male leadership is a similarly implicit licence for women in society just to have fun, go with the flow and not take anything too seriously. After all if the men don't care about anything bigger than themselves, why should the women? The reason I suspect this broader representation (as I see it) was unintentional is because Scott's grievances with the world and society are put down to his being bullied at school and being an only child; and not necessarily because some of that anger might just be righteous anger that he doesn't have the courage to express.

With respect to Poppy's character I have mixed feelings. First of all, although portrayed as one of a kind and a breath of fresh air, I didn't perceive her to be particularly so. Her humour frequently mimicked that of the juvenile David Brent character on the popular TV series "The Office" (I'm thinking of the UK version), though perhaps without the underlying sleaziness. And though not perhaps the archetypal female in the 2000s (which indeed was welcome), she wasn't a whole lot different to many women in the world today. I know several girls myself in the mould of Poppy, who could all be termed 'happy-go-lucky'. And this is where my main critique of the portrayal of her character comes in; for as much as I love and appreciate those friends of mine, each one of them has, or had, suffered from anxiety and/or panic attacks in one form or another. The reason is because nobody can sustain a 'happy-go-lucky' attitude indefinitely. This is for the simple reason that believing the events in your life are governed by little more than luck, or chance, is incredibly unsettling, and sure to promote anxiety. This comes first and foremost through a feeling of a lack of influence over one's own life, and then secondarily through self-concerted efforts to change that; as is said by Zoe at the end of the film (though this line is in the trailer so I don't feel I'm giving too much away) "well you make your own luck in life don't you". This in itself also implies that if you are solely responsible for your own luck (or good fortune) in life, you are also solely responsible for your own failures in life too. I won't go on about that one any further, suffice to say the only truly sustainable path in life is a 'happy-go-God's providence' attitude. The other particular thing worth noting of Poppy's character was her openness to people - as is attested to in the interviews with the actors on the DVD. This also has its positives and negatives. Positive as in the example of Poppy reaching out to the tramp (how many of us Christians would do that in the way Poppy did?), but negative because there's only so many times she'll be able to do that without putting herself in real danger. From my own experience of working with homeless people for a limited time, I know that most of them are in such a state that they don't simply want to speak to another nice person; they want real help in life, help to empower them personally; help that I believe can only come through Jesus Christ.

With respect to the acting, directing, producing etc. these are all commendably executed: Mike Leigh has managed to accurately portray at least the superficial experiences, attitudes and personalities (albeit a little inflated) of a significant section of British society in the first decade of this century.