High Hopes

Name: High Hopes
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: February 24, 1989
Duration: 110 min
Rating: 84
Cast: Philip Davis, Ruth Sheen

1989

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 12 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 5 Ratings

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8.2

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8.2	User Score Universal acclaim based on 5 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

BFS Entertainment & Multimedia Limited | Release Date: February 24, 1989 | PG

Starring: Philip Davis, Ruth Sheen

Summary: A slice-of-life look at a sweet working-class couple in London, Shirley and Cyril, his mother, who's aging quickly and becoming forgetful, mum's ghastly upper-middle-class neighbors, and Cyril's pretentious sister and philandering husband. Shirley wants a baby, but Cyril, who reads Marx and wants the world to be perfect, is reluctant.A slice-of-life look at a sweet working-class couple in London, Shirley and Cyril, his mother, who's aging quickly and becoming forgetful, mum's ghastly upper-middle-class neighbors, and Cyril's pretentious sister and philandering husband. Shirley wants a baby, but Cyril, who reads Marx and wants the world to be perfect, is reluctant. Cyril's mum locks herself out and must ask her snooty neighbors for help. Then Cyril's sister Valerie stages a surprise party for mum's 70th birthday, a disaster from start to finish. Shirley holds things together, and she and Cyril may put aside her Dutch cap after all.… Expand

Director: Mike Leigh

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 110 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Roger Ebert

High Hopes is an alive and challenging film, one that throws our own assumptions and evasions back at us. Leigh sees his characters and their lifestyles so vividly, so mercilessly and with such a sharp satirical edge, that the movie achieves a neat trick: We start by laughing at the others, and end by feeling uncomfortable about ourselves. Read full review

100

Hal Hinson

Leigh has fashioned a limber style of political commentary that is part documentary, part cartoon and wholly novel in the movies. Read full review

Ted Mahar

The characters and their situations, while perfectly credible and funny on the simplest literal level, surely add up to something like a subtly farcical apocalyptic satire. [18 April 1989, p.D4]

Empire Staff [Not Credited]

Despite its bleak locations, High Hopes is in fact very funny, with wonderful observations on life in the capital...and believable, touching performances all round. Read full review

Janet Maslin

High Hopes manages to be enjoyably whimsical without ever losing its cutting edge. Read full review

Sheila Benson

The actors, many of whom are part of a loose Mike Leigh stock company, are miraculously deft at erasing that line between performing and being. Read full review

Staff [Not Credited]

Leigh builds a slight story intended to be a microcosm of today’s London. Read full review

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User Reviews

joelgreenberg

Jul 28, 2022

High Hopes is not without its flaws,but like any true gem, the flaws can enhance the thing itself. Mike Leigh's dissection of Thatcher's impact on life in Britain never fails to score, sometimes with laughter that sticks in the throat, and sometimes with a piercing pain of recognition. TheHigh Hopes is not without its flaws,but like any true gem, the flaws can enhance the thing itself. Mike Leigh's dissection of Thatcher's impact on life in Britain never fails to score, sometimes with laughter that sticks in the throat, and sometimes with a piercing pain of recognition. The downbeat score reminds us that the world of late 1980's London is permanently overcast, almost always threatening a storm. That the clouds fail to break speaks to Leigh's powerful vision and his hold on the truth of the central characters.I loved this film on first sight when it was shown on tv and i had no idea what was about to unfold. I devoured everything of his work that i could find thereafter and ever since. High Hopes is the best there is.… Expand

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