Career Girls (1997)

Bittersweet

After his volcanic, emotional, wonderful "Secrets and Lies," Mike Leigh decided to keep it simple and straightforward, at least on the surface, with this film "Career Girls." On closer inspection though, "Career Girls" is equally as emotionally open and character driven as its predecessor of just one year before.
"Career Girls" is a film of recollection and remembrance: not always fond nor happy but like all recalled events and relationships one filled with equal parts pride, regret and embarrassment. Hannah ( an equally whacked out and serene performance by the now deceased Katrine Cartlidge) and Annie ( a twitchy, depressed yet also thoughtful and emotionally vulnerable performance by Lynda Steadman..." a walking open wound" as described by Hannah) meet again six years after college having been room mates during most of their college years. They were friends, confidants and shared early lives of hurt and despair. They never quite connected though as college room mates, mostly because they were damaged having been mortally wounded by childhood and therefore wary of all commitments. But now, they are mature seemingly successful women and as such recall events of the past with a sly understanding of each other and of the events that helped shape their current lives.
Bittersweet is a word that comes to mind while I watched this movie again also having seen it in the theaters some 10 years ago. At a particularly poignant dinner in a Chinese Restaurant, Hannah and Annie reveal all the stuff that they both hated and loved about each other: a scene redolent with the truth of recalled events and emotions..."You're the only person who ever understood me," recalls Hannah about Annie.
This is a special kind of bittersweet though: a bittersweet brewed by director Leigh with the grounds of regret and heartfelt recollection. Hannah and Annie have moved on, built new lives on the detritus of their college years and have come out the other end better and wiser for it.
February 10, 2008

A Gem

This is one of those little known films that will really grow on you if you give it a chance. It seems like we learn a little more about the characters everytime we watch it!
If you're looking for a few more that fall into this catagory, I recommend, Smoke Signals, Japanese Story, Shall We Dance (The ORGINAL Shall We Dance, not the god awful remake), That's The Way I Like It, and Star Wars (Just kidding) February 4, 2008

Those Who Knew Us Back In The Day

Career Girls is about a weekend spent between two old college roomates who finally reunite after 6 years apart. Both shared a flat in London during University before moving out after graduation. One stayed in the city and another moved into the country but they continued to exchanged letters to maintain contact. Although they change into career girls on the outside their reunion is spent reconnecting just how the same as always they may be on the inside. It's film depicting the passage of youth, the endurance of friendship, our true selves that never go away, and just how much fun two can have with Ms. Bronte's books as an oracle. I do agree with another reviewer about the flashbacks circa the 80's ... and the music on the soundtrack. Hard to believe it is now over 20 years since that era! No matter what ... the cliche is true ... the more things change the more they stay the same. December 3, 2006

Textured, Rich, and Poignant

Mike Leigh's Career Girls (1997) draws viewers out of a steady diet of inconsequential plotting and formulaic storylines. Among the more fascinating stories involve protagonists who are also antagonists to themselves and others.

Young psychology student, Annie (Lynda Steadman), seeks a place to live and answers an ad provided by Hannah (the late Katrin Cartlidge) and Claire (Kate Byers). Annie's flatmates, both reading English at the local Polytechnic school, play a divination game with an old Penguin copy of Bronte's Wuthering Heights to pass the time. Hannah, who appears to have numerous tics, possesses a rapier wit and a developed intuition while managing a stormy relationship with her alcoholic mother. Eventually, Hannah and Annie become close friends, finding between them a tighter bond as a result of shared experiences. The tough and brash Hannah protects the waif-like Annie, self-conscious as a result of a case of dermatitis, most apparent on her youthful visage.

The story, told in a series of flashbacks, pushes viewers to enjoy the narrative ride rather than piecing together what happened when. As a result, Leigh establishes his ability to tell a sophisticated and poignant story about friendship, one that lasts because their affection for one another remains when the other is no longer present. Leigh does not dwell on a sentimental storyline largely because he is intelligent enough to suggest that friendships survive as a result of a history of common joys and genuine conflicts. Annie finds herself attracted to a man, Adrian Spinks (Joe Tucker), whom Hannah is dating. Ricky (Mark Benton) suffers from unrequited love when Annie turns him down and Hannah is quick to remind her that she has no cause to decline men because of their appearance. Leigh's meditation brings us back to Aristotle's argument on friendship, that friendship between two persons exists when both are equal and care for the other's well-being. The conversation in the Chinese restaurant is particularly moving.

The DVD offers the original trailer, widescreen, and full screen format. September 11, 2005

DVD is on the Way!!!

Good news Mike Leigh fans, this movie is now scheduled to be released on DVD on September 6, 2005 according to Amazon!!

The movie is an excellent one. Sometimes (unjustly) considered one of Leigh's lesser works it functions both as comedy and drama as it looks at the reunion of two friends from college several years after they have graduated and have been trying to find their niche in the world. Told in a series of flashbacks and in present time it shows how he characters have grown over time while many of their vulnerabilities remain.

A must for any and all Mike Leigh fans. June 25, 2005

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