High Hopes

1988
15
1h 48m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

The life of a working class couple living in London and their complicated relationships with other members of the family.The life of a working class couple living in London and their complicated relationships with other members of the family.The life of a working class couple living in London and their complicated relationships with other members of the family.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 6 wins & 6 nominations total

User reviews34

Featured review

7/10

high hopes

This is early Mike Leigh before he achieved that perfect balance in tone between critical and affectionate that distinctly marks his best films. Consequently, while there are wonderfully observed sad and funny bits (like the visit to Karl Marx's grave and the way the Marxist couple treats the lost waif in search of his mom) the main set pieces soon descend into undue caricature (the Yuppie couple in the gentrified housing block) or nastiness (the mom's 70th b-day party). Give it a B minus if only for Ruth Sheen's warm hearted performance that would foreshadow Alison Steadman in the later, better "Life Is Sweet".

mossgrymk
Jun 5, 2021
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Trivia
Before High Hopes (1988), director Mike Leigh had made Bleak Moments (1971), released in 1971, and Meantime (1983), released in 1983. This gap in his filmography was attributable in part to his process for creating films: When he applied for financial backing, he did not yet have finished scripts, preferring to allow actors, once they were hired, to use improvisation sessions to create the dialogue. As a result, given the absence of a concrete script, many potential financial backers were reluctant to support Leigh's work. For "High Hopes," that spelled doom until the British TV station Channel 4 stepped in and partially funded it. The result is one of the most moving and engaging films of the 1980s and an early masterwork in Leigh's catalog.

Goofs
After they come back from the opera, Lætitia sings the aria "La ci darem" to Rupert, which she claims was from the opera they just saw. They proceed to talk about the characters Susanna and Cherubino. However, these characters are from The Marriage of Figaro whereas the aria "La ci darem" is from Don Giovanni.