MovieChat Forums > Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) Discussion > This film absolutely destroyed me

This film absolutely destroyed me

posted 12 years ago by the-twist
7 replies | jump to latest

The subtlty in the homeless scene was astounding. There was so much confusion and turmoil in that little moment on the bench, and it said so much about Poppy's character.

Then when Poppy actually finds happiness, seeing her cutely looking for anything to say, and not being able to keep her happiness contained was so wonderfully powerful. She sucked you into her joy, it felt like she had earned it.

Then the scene with Scott. Holy *beep* I felt so awful for Scott in pretty much every scene. Everything he said made me weep for him more and more - almost all of his lines made him sadder and sadder. his outburst at the end was... It was probably one of the most pure, honest and heart-shattering depictions of sadness I've ever seen on screen. There was so much loss there. I could barely take it.

And then, finishing off with the call to Tim, on the boat with Zoe. It was as if the tiny amount of happiness on that one little boat was almost enough to keep the misery of the last scene at bay. Wonderfully emotional film.

[–] bbojojo99 11 years ago

I agree. I liked the movie quite a bit, it made me think about life and my own worldview. Poppy was annoying to me at first (I tend to be skeptical of overly positive people), but she grew on me. You couldn't have described the ending scene on the lake any better for me.

--

"I wanna be just like you. All I need is a lobotomy & some tights." -Bender, The Breakfast Club

[–] achordion 11 years ago

Amen.

[–] cgraves04 10 years ago

i didn't feel sorry for scott. he blamed everyone else for his problems, and that's why he's the antithesis to poppy. he was a racist who blamed "multiculturalism" for ruining england and a misogynist who blamed poppy for his inability to attract her--as if she owed him something simply by being an attractive woman.

i actually think he was attracted to her because he wanted to absorb her happiness, but being with a person can't make you happy. only you can make you happy. poppy didn't blame other people for her problems and she didn't fixate on their flaws either. she was responsible for herself and her students, and that was all she needed to be, even though her sister pressured her to "take responsibility" by having kids and buying a house. clearly those weren't things poppy wanted to saddle herself with, so she didn't. scott, to me, was the epitome of being irresponsible because he obsessed about what was wrong with everybody else.

[–] Muhammed_Ali 9 years ago

Poppy is an annoying trollop. The worst thing about Scott was the fact that he was attracted to her. Most people would run a mile to get away from this nonentity.

This film is extremely misandrist. Virtually all the male characters are presented as disturbed, unhinged or unsympathetic. The obvious exception is the Prince Charming of Mike Leigh's extremely limited imagination, Tim, who is one of the most boring, cardboard characters imaginable - a perfect role model for the brainwashed ultra conformist male of the ultra-liberal agenda future.

The backlash will be extravagant.

[–] smoko 8 years ago

@Muhammed_Ali ...Tim, who is one of the most boring, cardboard characters imaginable...
He was very bland. Not the sort of character you'd expect in a Mike Leigh film.

[–] huwdj (4562) 7 years ago

It's a funny film because story wise nothing happens and almost nobody is totally likeable and it all seems a bit exaggerated. But with a few seconds thought there seems more and more stuff going on and I want to watch it again and see what else I think I see - it's a bloody iceberg of film.

[–] TheMan18 (12480) a year ago

You should watch Mike Leigh's (director of this one) "Naked" (1993) for one but be very warned.