This is the latest slice in Mike Leigh’s loaf-of-life oeuvre. Sally Hawkins stars as Poppy, a woman in her thirties completely happy with her life. She shares a flat with her best friend Zoe (Alexis Zegerman) in London’s trendy Camden. Both are teachers at the same primary school, and enjoy all the trappings living in London have to offer – the clubs, pubs etc.

Poppy is very independent and enjoys various activities including trampoline and flamenco. After having her bicycle stolen she decides to have driving lessons. Her instructor Scott (Eddies Marsen) is the polar opposite of Poppy; his world is a dark and insular one.

Happiness is a pair of jazz hands.

Left in anyone else’s hands this would be the jumping off point for the latest romcom; with Leigh however, their peculiar relationship is the dramatic focal point of the film. Having said that, this can be best described as Leigh’s first real stab at comedy. Much of its humour though rests on the awkward shoulders of Hawkins, which is the film’s major downfall.

A capable actress she may be, but comedy is certainly not her forte. Especially when you consider Leigh’s style for shooting a lot of improvised material. As poppy she just comes across as a highly irritating and vacuous character, with much of her humour seemingly borrowed from her working environ of the playground.

Many of Leigh’s previous characters are damaged in one form or another, which heightens the audiences’ empathy for their plight. Here though, Poppy comes across as so dull and irritating, its difficult not to will some unpleasantness on her from the get go. It’s only when she sits next to instructor Scott for her driving lesson that we get a glimpse at the more familiar cracked Leigh world.

Unfortunately, these scenes are book-ended with all too many truly mundane and empty scenes, which are just a slice of real life too far.