Happy-Go-Lucky

Last week I went to see Happy-Go-Lucky with my mum. This film seems to divide opinion and I can see why. The lead character, Poppy, played by Sally Hawkins, is so immensely irritating that if she were real I wouldn't want to spend five minutes in her presence. And yet she is utterly believable. Sally Hawkins' acting is excellent and she made my toes curl with her excruciating relentless cheerfulness.

I hate those people who are always telling you to smile and cheer up; who witter on inanely refusing to have serious discussions because they don't have a sensible thought in their brain; who assume that other people don't have a sense of humour because they don't laugh at her banality. Her silly eye rolling and head waggling movements are simply infuriating and I can understand why Scott, the driving instructor (played to perfection by Eddie Marsan) loses his temper with her - she refuses to take anything seriously. I would not want her to be on the road when I'm driving.

Scott tells Poppy (real name Pauline, but that's not nearly annoying enough) that not everything is about her. She genuinely seems to think it is. She is one of those smug self-satisfied types who have taken a gap year to travel to Australia, Vietnam, Bali and Thailand, and now thinks she knows about the world.

I would like to know more about the other characters, all of whom I like more than her. I want to know what happens to the little boy who bullies others because his mum's new boyfriend hits him. I'm intrigued by the Flamenco teacher (Karina Fernandez) and the student who is completely expressive without words (Rebekah Staton). Tim (Samuel Roukin), the social worker could be interesting as could the youngest sister, Suzy (Kate O'Flynn), studying for her exams, and the heavily pregnant middle sister, Helen (Caroline Martin), unhappy with her domestic bliss and hen-pecked husband.

The best friend, Zoe (Alexis Zegerman), is the star of the film for me with her deadpan delivery and smouldering looks. But Scott is right; all we learn about these people is how they relate to Poppy, as if their existence is unimportant outside her circle of radiance. This could be due to the work-shopping manner in which Mike Leigh runs his rehearsals. Many stories are started but none are finished; there is no script. The dialogue is believable because people have repetitive verbal twitches - 'don't they just?' - and they don't actually say anything, but is that really what you want from a drama?

I like Mike Leigh films, and I'm used to them being dark and depressing. I kept waiting for the misery to kick in - when is she going to reveal that she's addicted to Prozac? - but the fact that it didn't, made it even more exhausting. Poppy is a primary school teacher and she dresses in bright primary colours and skank boots. There is nothing wrong with being childish, but surely not all the time? Or maybe that is the secret to happiness - don't live in the real world!

Although I can believe such infuriating people exist, I cannot credit that they would have so many friends. The ever-excellent Sylvestra le Touzel as the headmistress, Heather, seems far too grounded to waste her time with this total airhead. There is a far-fetched but touching scene when Poppy patronisingly talks to a tramp; I can only assume she relates to him because he doesn't say anything sensible either.

I also find it very difficult to believe that two men would fall for this woman. Most I know would run screaming. A quick scan of the IMBd message board revealed the following comment from someone signing themself 'The Piano Dude': “I just couldn't stand the character of Poppy. If British children are really being taught by people like that then no wonder the country's in the sorry state that it's in. I wanted to smack her more than I've ever wanted to smack a fictional character before.”

I think that just about says it all. But, and this is a big but, the acting was fantastic and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. Poppy has got under my skin. Like a particularly nasty case of shingles.