Bryan Makes Films

I finally got round to watching the Mike Leigh film High Hopes today after one of my friends suggested a few months back that my script reminded him of it. After watching the film I am not 100% sure where he was coming from.

I liked the film without falling in love with it. I think Mike Leigh has the affect on me to feel attached to his work and I think the biggest compliment that I could pay him is that I have never been disappointed or bored when watching any of his films.

High Hopes did feel kind of dated now to some extent and I am not sure if that changed my view of how I interpreted the characters. I know that others have said it before but I do find it amusing how the “posh” characters come across within the Mike Leigh films that I have seen. His other characters seem so perfectly relaxed and real that his “posh” ones tend to jar against them. I am not sure if this is on purpose although I would be surprised if it wasn’t but it always makes me laugh for a bit before totally baffling me afterwards.

I don’t really want to go on about that weak point though as he always makes up for it by the beautiful characters that himself and the actors have created for this story. I think Mike Leigh is probably the best British director around or should I say that he is the one that I most admire.

So in summary it is a good film and worth watching but be prepared to watch a film that feels slightly dated. Not sure it gave me much ammunition for my film either.