More about Happy-Go-Lucky
Sally Hawkins, star of Happy Go Lucky
By Lisa Rosen
Los Angeles Times
Excerpt, The Envelope
November 19, 2008
Mike Leigh's latest film, " Happy-Go-Lucky," centers on the unsinkable Poppy Cross, a teacher who tries to make everyone around her happier. It is an effort rebuffed by some, welcomed by others and at times even difficult to watch. In dealing with an unstable homeless man and a troubled driving instructor, the potential for danger hovers closely. But God apparently protects fools, children and the decidedly cheerful. Poppy walks a fine line between grating and endearing, even down to the little laugh that punctuates her sentences. For her performance, Sally Hawkins has captured critics' hearts, winning the Silver Bear for acting at the Berlin Film Festival, and a recent nomination for a British Independent Film Award. As is Leigh's method, the cast went through six months of rehearsals, creating the characters from scratch. Hawkins, a British actress who also had a small role in Leigh's "Vera Drake," talks of the process of creating her character, the unexpected hoopla that resulted and the importance of being joyful.
In the U.S. we have a term, Pollyanna, that refers to a person who is extremely cheerful and optimistic in the face of adversity.
How lovely.
It's usually considered an insult.
But surely it's a good thing. I find that it's always quite weird when people tend to dismiss people who have that lovely attitude of life. . . . Like it's something weak and not to be celebrated, when it's exactly what we need...
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