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Mike Leigh isn’t a flashy director. His improvised films have a meandering quality that some do not like, because they do not strictly adhere to conventional plots. Compared to SECRETS & LIES and ALL OR NOTHING, his latest film is cotton candy. But like his somber VERA DRAKE, this film relies on one central performance. Sally Hawkins is a revelation. She fills the screen with happiness. I came out of the theater with a skip in my step and a smile on my face.

Poppy (Hawkins, THE PAINTED VEIL) is full of life. Her main goal is to make those around her happy. She’s 30, teaches elementary school, and lives with her longtime friend Zoe (Alexis Zegerman), a woman who doesn’t have the same cheery outlook on life as her flatmate, but knows that her life is better for having Poppy in it. Poppy floats on the wind and goes wherever it takes her. A coworker is taking Flamenco lessons so she joins in. She loves having a weekly turn on the trampoline. When her bike is stolen, she brushes it off and only wishes she could have said goodbye. This leads to driving lessons with Scott (Eddie Marsan, THE ILLUSIONIST), the most miserable man on the planet. The two couldn’t be more opposites, but this film is too good to take them where every other film would.

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