I haven't been to see a movie in ages, but I picked a good one today - Mike Leigh's newest, "Happy-Go-Lucky." Sally Hawkins (above) plays a loud young North London teacher of endless good humor and optimism. Not every viewer will like her, but I did. She's real, and her cheerfulness is real, too. At times she seems a child, but in reality (and unlike Amélie Poulin or Forrest Gump) she's actually a grownup in steady touch with her inner child. She has a deep insight into the mysteries and tragedies of life as well as its joys. She mentions the big questions (why are we here, what's the meaning of life, are you happy, &c) breezily but often enough that you understand she's alive to them, and wise enough to understand that simply being able to answer them would be no use at all. You only really realize what an achievement her good cheer is after the film finishes - there have been enough moments of stillness, worry and even danger that her happiness seems earned, fragile, even (because it would never describe itself this way) heroic. If I ever had/got to put together a film series on the good, I'd include this film.(Hawkins reminded me also of my indefatigable Melbourne friend V...)
