Chosen by Juliet & Andi
The film
Mike Leigh had to make an appearance in our film club before too long. We could have chosen any of his films, only ending up with this one because it had been sitting in J&A's (tiny) DVD stash. Poppy (Sally Hawkins) is a 30-year-old Londoner with a relentlessly positive approach to life. An increasingly tense relationship with her driving instructor weaves through the film - between flamenco lessons, helping a troubled pupil and visiting her pregnant sister.
The response
The film, released in 2008, won acclaim from the professional critics (and many awards); but got a less positive response from our film club members. A minority thought Poppy likeable and sympathetic; most found her profoundly irritating. They criticised her for misleading Scott the driving instructor, saying she flirted unnecessarily with a vulnerable guy (by contrast, her sympathisers thought he was creepy and deserved her dressing-down). In particular, most of us despaired at the shallow conversation - nobody in the film really engaged with each other.
Maybe Mike Leigh's improvisational style made it difficult for the characters to become real and engage deeply with each other? Certainly, some of us thought so, although others enjoyed the 'kitchen-sink realism'. In any case, this was a film that kept us arguing happily all evening.
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