DEEP DIVE: Mike Leigh's Discrete Charm of the Working Class

January just feels so Mike Leigh. I will not be taking questions. Watch at home, discuss in person.

I had another director in mind, but we just had the Spirit of Thanksgiving deep dive and had a lively discussion about the complexities presented in Another Year. So what a great way to start the year of cinema with several Mike Leigh joints, who's one of my fave directors. His breadth of work highlights the ugliness and the joys and everything in between of life, particularly that of working class Britain in such a precise, complicated way. They may sound simple in the beginning, but by the end credits roll, they're anything but. We're gonna look at a couple of his earlier works as well as a late 2000s gem.

Let's deep dive!

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Films to watch:

• High Hopes (1988):
  Synopsis - The life of a working class couple living in London and their complicated relationships with other members of the family.
  Stream: Criterion Channel, YouTube
• Life is Sweet (1990):
  Synopsis - A shop assistant, her cook husband, and their twin daughters go about their lives in a working-class London suburb.
  Stream: Apple TV, Criterion Channel
• Happy-Go-Lucky (2008):
  Synopsis - A look at a few chapters in the life of Poppy, a cheery, colorful, North London schoolteacher whose optimism tends to exasperate those around her.
  Stream: Kanopy, Hoopla

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Please keep your RSVP updated and preferably not on the day of! If you have issues finding any of these films, please let me know and I'll get you together. Happy watching!

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Resources:

• Mike Leigh's profile on They Shoot Pictures, Don't They
• Mike Leigh on every single film of his MAJOR SPOILERS!!!!!!!!
• Interview with the cast and director about Life is Sweet
• Interview with Mike Leigh on High Hopes
• DP/30 with Sally Hawkins and Mike Leigh for Happy Go Lucky
• Interview with Mike Leigh on Happy Go Lucky
• Mike Leigh being completely over this Hollywood Roundtable