"Happy-Go-Lucky," the latest film from five-time Oscar nominee, director Mike Leigh, opened Friday in limited release to good reviews with some raves for star Sally Hawkins. As an eternally optimistic schoolteacher, Hawkins has already picked up the best actress prize at the Berlin film fest last February. Now the question is whether she can compete at the Oscars next February. Two of Leigh's previous leading ladies landed best actress nominations: Imelda Staunton ("Vera Drake," 2004) and Brenda Blethyn ("Secrets and Lies," 1996).

Mike Leigh earned writing and directing nods for each of those films (as well as a scripting nom for "Topsy-Turvy" in 1999). While "Happy-Go-Lucky" scored a very good 82 at Meta Critic, it earned a perfect score with the top critics on Rotten Tomatoes. As Kenneth Turan of The Times notes about "Happy-Go-Lucky," "For what feels like the first time in his more than 35 years of bringing an exceptional level of insight and intensity to the exploration of human behavior, Leigh has put a thoroughly happy person front and center in one of his films."

Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal says Hawkins delivers "an astonishing comic performance" while Manohla Dargis of the New York Times calls her "glorious." Reviews like that certainly boost her chances of being among the five women competing on the comedy front at the Golden Globes. And such critical acclaim could help Hawkins establish herself as a rare serious Oscar contender for a largely comedic turn.

Four of the 15 Oscarologists sharing their predictions with Gold Derby already have "Happy-Go-Lucky" star Sally Hawkins as an Oscar contender — among the eight asked this week Marshall Fine (Star Magazine), Richard Rushfield (LATimes.com) and Peter Travers (Rolling Stone) put her in the running while I was alone among the seven surveyed a few weeks ago to give her the nod.

(Miramax)