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High Hopes
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Synopsis
In this early film, award-winning director Mike Leigh uses a loose, open-ended narrative structure to unsettle cinematic expectations and create a truly inventive and very honest film. High Hopes opens with the arrival of Wayne, a small-town lad in his twenties, in the London metropolis. Completely lost in the hustle and bustle, Wayne asks for directions from a cyclist named Cyril. Unable to assist him, Cyril brings Wayne to his house to examine a map and meet his long-time girlfriend, Shirley, also a working-class intellectual. After the opening credits roll, Wayne, equipped with directions, leaves and turns to wave goodbye to the helpful couple. Completely unexpectedly the camera stays with Cyril and Shirley, Wayne exits the film as a minor character, and the viewer's notions of what to expect from a narrative drama are completely shaken. Throughout, High Hopes' seemingly innocuous events turn out to be crucial incidents in the characters' lives. After this abrupt change of direction, Cyril and Shirley pay a visit to Cyril's aging mother, Mrs. Bender, and meet her neighbors, the vapid Boothe-Braines. In a parallel story, we meet Cyril's high-strung sister, Valerie, who perpetually neglects her mother as she herself is neglected by her wandering husband, Martin. The remainder of the film explores the dull, unfulfilled lives of the middle class and the wasteful and purposeless lives of the upper-middle class (the Boothe-Braines), and Cyril and Shirley's struggle to decide if they should bring a child into this mess of a world. As with his other films, Leigh did not work from a script in filming High Hopes, relying instead on the actors' improvisations which contribute to the lyrical, open-ended quality of the narrative. ~ Brian Whitener, All Movie Guide

Cast

David Bamber Rupert Booth-Braine
Philip Davis Cyril Bender
Edna Doré Mrs. Bender
Lesley Manville Laetitia Booth-Braine
Judith Scott Suzi
Ruth Sheen Shirley
Heather Tobias Valerie Burke
Jason Watkins Wayne
Philip Jackson Martin Burke

Production Crew

Andrew Rothschild Art Director
Roger Pratt Cinematographer
Simon Channing-Williams Co-producer
Victor Glynn Co-producer
Andrew Dickson Composer (Music Score)
Andrew Dixon Composer (Music Score)
Rachel Portman Composer (Music Score)
Lindy Hemming Costume Designer
Mike Leigh Director
Jon Gregory Editor
Tom Donald Executive Producer
Howard Arundel First Assistant Director
Morag Ross Makeup
Simon Channing-Williams Producer
Victor Glynn Producer
Diana Charnley Production Designer
Caroline Hill Production Manager
Mike Leigh Screenwriter
Bill McCarthy Sound/Sound Designer
Year: 1989
Runtime: 110
Country: UK
MPAA Rating: PG
Category: Feature

Genre
Comedy

Color type
Eastmancolor

Produced by
British Screen
Film Four International
Portman Productions
Skouras Pictures

Release
February 24, 1989 (USA)

Awards
1988 - Film Presented - Telluride Film Festival