Document
International Premier
Jeffrey Blitz/ USA 2009/ 96 min/ tbc
There’s a theory of happiness that says when people are faced with awful tragedy or fabulous good fortune, the change in their happiness level will last no longer than two years- i.e. you are what you are. There isn’t much greater good fortune than winning the Lottery, and Jeffrey Blitz’s fascinating documentary explores what happens to people who win. Are they changed forever by the event? Or not changed at all? And does winning the lottery really make you happy?
In one interview, Jeffrey Blitz said his original idea for Lucky, was to explore what lottery winners think about the role God and Fate played in their win. But documentaries are often like moody teenagers- you encourage them to go one way and they stubbornly go another. He abandoned the idea as none of the people he interviewed where really interested in why they won, only that they had. Lucky takes a broad spectrum of winners, and lets them tell their own stories. No doubt that some people are changed for the worse- a perfectly happy couple seem uptight and suspicious only a year later, having struggled to adjust to losing their friends, worrying for their children and having an overwhelming sense that somehow they just don’t fit in anymore. Down and out James seems as vulnerable and lonely after his win as before, and the only real success story seems to be Qang, who spreads his good fortune through a huge extended family. Highly entertaining without losing our sympathy, Blitz gives us a deeper insight into America’s biggest addiction, and leaves us with one certainty- that you cannot keep your old life when you win, so make sure you are ready to say goodbye to it when you choose your numbers.
Showing @Cineworld 19th June 20:45 and 20th June 20.45