Happy Go Lucky

Poppy is not a contradiction of but an artistic first cousin to Leigh's previous heroine, Vera Drake; both are open, fearless, unselfish and compassionate women, trying to craft the best life possible out of the potentially dreary material of existence.
A fellow teacher tells Poppy: "You celebrate chaos." Leigh revels in the celebration. An early scene in which Poppy and her flatmate, Zoe (Alexis Zegerman), construct crazy grocery-sack bird heads makes no sense until we learn the women are schoolteachers working on a class project. Like Vera Drake, Poppy seems incapable of ignoring the needy; she invites danger by confronting a homeless man, and she refuses to be cowed by the increasingly scary behavior of her frustrated, right-wing driving instructor (played by chameleonic character actor Eddie Marsan, whose presence enhanced "Vera Drake" and "Hancock").
Shot on location, "Happy-Go-Lucky" doesn't lead the viewer; Leigh allows us to interpret Poppy's behavior without the editorializing mood music, expressionistic lighting and flattering or disturbing camera angles that accompany most movie portraits. Clearly, there is no "correct" way to respond to this woman. The result is a character who is convincing and "real," and a movie that is as generous as its heroine.