Mike Leigh’s film is a frequently hilarious slice-of-life look at a sweet working-class couple in London during the Thatcher years. ‘High Hopes’ follows left-wing bike messenger Cyril Bender (Philip Davis), his girlfriend Shirley (Ruth Sheen) and Cyril’s conservative mother (Edna Dore), who lives in the last council house on her street, next to the ghastly Boothe-Braines (Lesley Manville and David Bamber). Cyril’s pretentious sister Valerie and her philandering husband Martin join the family to throw a surprise 70th birthday party for Mrs. Bender but, despite their best intentions, the event descends into chaos.
