I've seen a lot of Mike Leigh's films and while I know that Career Girls isn't considered by most critics his best film, I think it's his most touching (at least from the ones I have seen). Annie and Hannah were roomates in college for 4 years, after they graduated Annie returned to her hometown and now 6 years later she's visiting her old friend in London for the first time in those 6 years. Re-uniting with old friends is something that has happened to all of us and always brings back the most bittersweet memories. This is a beautiful film and I recommend it to everyone.
41 Reviews
One of Mike Leigh's more easy-going efforts
PayOrPlay15 August 2002
This is one of Mike Leigh's more easy-going efforts, overall, a bit mannered, sort of an urban picaresque, "Naked"-lite if you will. When I saw it on initial release, I liked it fine, but thought it would be memorable mainly for particular bits--the very funny scene with the obnoxious yuppie flat owner, the very powerful scenes with Mark Benton as Ricky--rather than for any coherence. I saw it again this week and it is sticking in my mind with more impact than before; to me it now resonates as a meditation on the need to get on with one's life, and the costs (in friendship, soulfulness, caring) of doing so, and the tragedy of those who just can't make the jump. Not one of Leigh's greatest films, but like everything he's made, well worth the time.
Back to the 80's (& the 90's!)
tim-764-29185625 January 2013
I quite enjoy re-playing Mike Leigh's older films, this time reviewing them and admittedly, Career Girls was far from being my (or, it seems, most other people's) first choice.
I'd recorded mine from Film4's broadcast, just before the release of his latest 'Another Year' the advantage being Mr Leigh introduced it himself and said that it was often overlooked and he wasn't quite sure why. I had seen it myself on a couple of occasions before, most probably on the same channel and always quite liked it. It's not my favourite but always found it better once fully immersed.
Is that because I'm a bloke, who never went to Uni and never had to flat-share, but there again, the 80s and 90s were formative years for me too.
Anyway, as is usual with almost Leigh films, the opening few minutes always seem to have annoying characters that we really rather not share any time with, doing their best (worst?) to put us off. However, once we get used to them and their strange, odd ways, they become part of our screen lives and as if they were people we actually know, we put up with their annoying aspects and revel in their good, Leigh's folk are very human, almost TOO much so.
So, Leigh's purpose was to show how passages of time, circumstance and education, plus friendship can follow in both predictive and unpredicted ways with the reunion of two Uni classmates ten years later, with frequent, but obvious, flashbacks to the student years, we can see how people can change. Side by side, the contrasts are very marked, almost too much so, but as we usually witness our friends forming slowly, year by year, who's to say that Leigh is not right?
There's a smaller pool of main characters than with the better Leighs, and as with say, the later but even less good Happy Go Lucky, there is less respite from the obnoxious and smaller variety in which to spice up the story.
Oddly, considering it's the female lead characters that Leigh is championing it's the two male leads that we see regularly on TV and cinema screen these days - Mark Benton as the twitchy, overweight Goth who gets to know them in student digs but always finds solace and comfort in food instead of confronting fears, including women; these two women. And Andy Serkis, who Leigh says he made as an opposite to Benton's sweet nature as possible and in Serkis, we have a 'disgusting pig' as Leigh refers to him. Both chauvinist and arrogant he could be seen as the ultimate product of the Thatcherite Yuppie years and again, typically Leigh, he doesn't portray this subtly and quite rightly, we want to leave his company as quickly as possible but perhaps more importantly, want our 'girls' to, as well. There are lots of comedic takes on Serkis' lifestyle 'choices' and this does lighten the emotional load.
The two female leads, Katrin Cartlidge and Lynda Steadman though do not seem to be gracing our screens at all right now, though Cartlidge did feature in Leigh's Topsy Turvy (1999) and previously in the excellent Naked(Leigh's best film, probably) from 1993. Steadman seemed to have been in TV dramas about then but - all according to IMDb - nothing since 2003.
Maybe Mike Leigh has made too much out of political and economic markers to make us really care for any of the people here. Yes, they're engaging with their character traits and whilst we sort of feel a part of their world, albeit briefly, we don't necessarily want to be. However, there are some nice down to earth and more reflective moments, they are just a bit too far between to be make the film totally enjoyable.
I'd recorded mine from Film4's broadcast, just before the release of his latest 'Another Year' the advantage being Mr Leigh introduced it himself and said that it was often overlooked and he wasn't quite sure why. I had seen it myself on a couple of occasions before, most probably on the same channel and always quite liked it. It's not my favourite but always found it better once fully immersed.
Is that because I'm a bloke, who never went to Uni and never had to flat-share, but there again, the 80s and 90s were formative years for me too.
Anyway, as is usual with almost Leigh films, the opening few minutes always seem to have annoying characters that we really rather not share any time with, doing their best (worst?) to put us off. However, once we get used to them and their strange, odd ways, they become part of our screen lives and as if they were people we actually know, we put up with their annoying aspects and revel in their good, Leigh's folk are very human, almost TOO much so.
So, Leigh's purpose was to show how passages of time, circumstance and education, plus friendship can follow in both predictive and unpredicted ways with the reunion of two Uni classmates ten years later, with frequent, but obvious, flashbacks to the student years, we can see how people can change. Side by side, the contrasts are very marked, almost too much so, but as we usually witness our friends forming slowly, year by year, who's to say that Leigh is not right?
There's a smaller pool of main characters than with the better Leighs, and as with say, the later but even less good Happy Go Lucky, there is less respite from the obnoxious and smaller variety in which to spice up the story.
Oddly, considering it's the female lead characters that Leigh is championing it's the two male leads that we see regularly on TV and cinema screen these days - Mark Benton as the twitchy, overweight Goth who gets to know them in student digs but always finds solace and comfort in food instead of confronting fears, including women; these two women. And Andy Serkis, who Leigh says he made as an opposite to Benton's sweet nature as possible and in Serkis, we have a 'disgusting pig' as Leigh refers to him. Both chauvinist and arrogant he could be seen as the ultimate product of the Thatcherite Yuppie years and again, typically Leigh, he doesn't portray this subtly and quite rightly, we want to leave his company as quickly as possible but perhaps more importantly, want our 'girls' to, as well. There are lots of comedic takes on Serkis' lifestyle 'choices' and this does lighten the emotional load.
The two female leads, Katrin Cartlidge and Lynda Steadman though do not seem to be gracing our screens at all right now, though Cartlidge did feature in Leigh's Topsy Turvy (1999) and previously in the excellent Naked(Leigh's best film, probably) from 1993. Steadman seemed to have been in TV dramas about then but - all according to IMDb - nothing since 2003.
Maybe Mike Leigh has made too much out of political and economic markers to make us really care for any of the people here. Yes, they're engaging with their character traits and whilst we sort of feel a part of their world, albeit briefly, we don't necessarily want to be. However, there are some nice down to earth and more reflective moments, they are just a bit too far between to be make the film totally enjoyable.
Reaches deep into your heart.
Doctor_Bombay13 April 1999
When I saw Mike Leigh's Naked, the first time, one word, genius, never left my mind. I still think it is one of the most intelligent pieces of filmmaking I have ever seen.
About 180 degrees away in its subject matter, Career Girls affects me even more strongly. The idea that a couple of college girl-chums might get together after a few odd years, is nothing new. The film effectively puts their relationship under a microscope, in two drastically different times of maturation, the college years, and the 10 or so years after. Under that scrutiny each will blossom, brilliantly, through the short span of the film, much like a rose blooms in time-lapse photography. It's a helluva notion. Leigh accomplishes it all brilliantly.
We have all seen buddy pictures, and Career Girls is no 48 Hours, or Lethal Weapon. It's a truly sensitive look into the human soul, the human heart portraying a friendship we only imagine.
This film literally leaves me breathless.
About 180 degrees away in its subject matter, Career Girls affects me even more strongly. The idea that a couple of college girl-chums might get together after a few odd years, is nothing new. The film effectively puts their relationship under a microscope, in two drastically different times of maturation, the college years, and the 10 or so years after. Under that scrutiny each will blossom, brilliantly, through the short span of the film, much like a rose blooms in time-lapse photography. It's a helluva notion. Leigh accomplishes it all brilliantly.
We have all seen buddy pictures, and Career Girls is no 48 Hours, or Lethal Weapon. It's a truly sensitive look into the human soul, the human heart portraying a friendship we only imagine.
This film literally leaves me breathless.
a pleasant surprise
Willie-128 October 1998
I was pleasantly surprised with this movie. It came on HBO the other night, and it was late so I was about to go to bed. I decided to just watch the beginning, but started to become quite interested in it. It turned out to be a pretty darn good little movie and I am glad I stayed up to watch it. Although it is a little different and a little slow, I thought it was a genuinely good movie with some very powerful performances. The characters are strong and the story is simple, but sweet.
Great combination!
peterlefaucheur22 May 2004
The combination of Alison Steadman and the stunningly talented Katrin Cartlidge make for a very quirky but really down-to-earth film.
Although it was slated heavily for being OTT i think the characters are so true to life. We all must've known certain folk back in the early 80s who were of a similar character to those portrayed here.
Katrin Cartlidges' death is a HUGE loss. She was one of the most talented and beautiful actresses who fitted in so well when directed by Mike Leigh.
If you fond of films containing humorous British nostalgia and are fed up with the false, glitzy, Hollywood -influenced exterior that seems to be the winning trade mark these days, then this is the sort of film for you.
Let's see more films about REAL life, warts and all, (like this one) for a change!
Although it was slated heavily for being OTT i think the characters are so true to life. We all must've known certain folk back in the early 80s who were of a similar character to those portrayed here.
Katrin Cartlidges' death is a HUGE loss. She was one of the most talented and beautiful actresses who fitted in so well when directed by Mike Leigh.
If you fond of films containing humorous British nostalgia and are fed up with the false, glitzy, Hollywood -influenced exterior that seems to be the winning trade mark these days, then this is the sort of film for you.
Let's see more films about REAL life, warts and all, (like this one) for a change!
Absorbing and Moving
ian_harris7 January 2003
Yes, this film has been panned by many, but in my view Mike Leigh was near top form again with this absorbing and moving film. The late, great Katrin Cartlidge puts in an excellent performance. Dreadfully sorry to learn that such a talented young stage and screen actress has died. Lynda Steadman is also superb.
The film is partly in flashback to college days in the 1980s and partly set in the "present" of the 1990s. I see the exaggerated twitching and accents of the characters in the 1980s scenes as part of the flashback genre. Perhaps I went to University with exceptionally twitchy people, or perhaps the memory pitches college-days memories at 30 frames-per-second, but my own "flashbacks" to such times feel a bit like that. I thought it was intriguing cinematography, but the majority seems to be against me.
Where the film does grate a little is in the coincidences that lead them to run in to their past several times. Two of the coincidences are necessary for the plot and interest. One seems like "a coincidence too many" and it goes nowhere - maybe there was an intended plot thread that got dropped - well the coincidence should also have been dropped in that case.
It's a short film and it held our attention from start to finish. Not Mike Leigh's very best film, but well worth seeing.
The film is partly in flashback to college days in the 1980s and partly set in the "present" of the 1990s. I see the exaggerated twitching and accents of the characters in the 1980s scenes as part of the flashback genre. Perhaps I went to University with exceptionally twitchy people, or perhaps the memory pitches college-days memories at 30 frames-per-second, but my own "flashbacks" to such times feel a bit like that. I thought it was intriguing cinematography, but the majority seems to be against me.
Where the film does grate a little is in the coincidences that lead them to run in to their past several times. Two of the coincidences are necessary for the plot and interest. One seems like "a coincidence too many" and it goes nowhere - maybe there was an intended plot thread that got dropped - well the coincidence should also have been dropped in that case.
It's a short film and it held our attention from start to finish. Not Mike Leigh's very best film, but well worth seeing.
Minor Leigh, but a pleasant little tale about nostalgia and the power of the memories of the people and places that helped forge you.
johnnyboyz24 July 2011
After the brilliant, inherent bleakness of 1993's Naked and the burning, wrenching turmoil of his subsequent film Secrets & Lies; Leigh's shift downwards into a lower gear for that of Career Girls, a dotty; whimsical; fluffy-of-sorts dialogue driven minimalist exercise, is at once a tonic and a head-scratching piece providing two distinct strands as well as one overlying friendship between two female characters. After the night set, pounding bleakness of something like Naked, Career Girls is the morning after – a desire for everything to remain quiet and somewhat subdued; a film with people, more often than not, inhabiting cleaner, more cleansed locales and speaking on more grounded, humanised terms as they remember the past and laugh at things from times gone by instead of look ahead to a future of the impending disasters that are readily incoming.
In some regards, the film is about the addressing of one's past; the acknowledging of what it is that made oneself in terms of one's experiences and being unafraid to confront them or indeed revisit a proverbial place in which one felt one's identity was forged. For the most part, the two female leads of Career Girls flit around a sunny London encountering people from their past and recalling them via stories and whatnot; the key difference arriving in the form of the women being able to recognise and relive certain memories and engagements, those of whom they meet and are able to speak with at length often coming across as seemingly oblivious to such interactions - a result which has them appear as disturbed or as arrogant or with any other previous negative characteristics that they always had. We sense the two women, however, have advanced from their jittery; restless natures that once imbued their lives back in the day.
The two women are Hannah and Annie, respectively played by Katrin Cartlidge and Lynda Steadman; Annie the one occupying the frame when we first see either of them – a train journey down to London from the north to meet with Hannah. Hannah and Annie were university students in England's capital back in the 1980s, their demeanour back then far more different to a primmer, more proper attitude to appearance and social behaviour than is evident in the present; our entrusting that they are university students, first-year freshers maybe, hand in hand with their general incarnations which calling to mind two certain Harry Enfield characters of a teen-aged ilk. Hannah is better off in life than Annie, a well dressed woman with a company car and apartment, whereas Annie is on the verge of chucking in her job. Where accusations, they of a frivolous and false sort, of misogyny blighted criticisms of the aforementioned Naked; Leigh splits a film that is all about women, and these two women specifically, down the centre page in telling an if only occasionally interesting tale, that is light on story, but is instead a somewhat charming account of these two recalling the faces and places which had the impact that they did on these two.
In the 1980s, they live a grimy existence with a third girl named Claire (Byers); a small accommodation above a Chinese takeaway shop encompassing the three of them in messy living rooms and shared bedrooms. The film chops between the two strands, either of the strands with enough in them to make decent films, shorts or otherwise, as stand alone pieces, but here somewhat uncomfortably spliced together as the nature of the chaotic and unhinged past tense clashes uneasily, indeed ineffectively juxtaposes, with the brighter and more 'grown-up' present tense strand of the two of them taking trips down memory lane. Leigh proves he can rack up a certain sense of unease; the initial coming together between the two women is, we feel, fraught with mites of tension. One instance sees a flashback to an altercation involving some mugs following one of the women's present day mentioning of them, a past instance that brings back a negative memory which ends undesirably that arrives with a good use of panic and pulsating musical tones.
It's too bad the rest of the film is not up to as much as this brief excursion, during which seeds of antagonism or whatnot are alluded to; the film lacking a cutting, narcissistic edge and instead plumbing for these people generally getting along swimmingly with one another in their gliding from one place to the next, frequently recognising someone of old, but sometimes not. At one point, we observe the film open up for an extended venturing of the two from apartment to apartment as Hannah looks for somewhere new to live, something encompassing odd interactions with shady real-estate folk; but it's nothing, in fact the two girls downplay the situations – where conflict seems apparent, Leigh stays in sync with the film Career Girls is and manoeuvres us around it for laugh and frolics as they merely exiting accordingly.
Where tension and a fair amount of drama is maintained, lies with the ambiguity surrounding just how much of the past either of these characters can actually recall. A great deal of 1980s content gives way to the present day stuff more inclined to lending time to these people uncovering places and people of old, which while looked back upon with nostalgia in that fashion nostalgia often brings about, what actually unfolded back in the day was often quite grotty and rough. Not for a second are we entirely sure precisely what it is either woman remembers and what they don't, and if they laugh and joke about times and people of old, how much can we invest in the past strand if the resultant drama leads them to where they are now? In spite of everything, there is an endearing quality about proceedings; it may not be particularly noteworthy, but it has a charm to it.
In some regards, the film is about the addressing of one's past; the acknowledging of what it is that made oneself in terms of one's experiences and being unafraid to confront them or indeed revisit a proverbial place in which one felt one's identity was forged. For the most part, the two female leads of Career Girls flit around a sunny London encountering people from their past and recalling them via stories and whatnot; the key difference arriving in the form of the women being able to recognise and relive certain memories and engagements, those of whom they meet and are able to speak with at length often coming across as seemingly oblivious to such interactions - a result which has them appear as disturbed or as arrogant or with any other previous negative characteristics that they always had. We sense the two women, however, have advanced from their jittery; restless natures that once imbued their lives back in the day.
The two women are Hannah and Annie, respectively played by Katrin Cartlidge and Lynda Steadman; Annie the one occupying the frame when we first see either of them – a train journey down to London from the north to meet with Hannah. Hannah and Annie were university students in England's capital back in the 1980s, their demeanour back then far more different to a primmer, more proper attitude to appearance and social behaviour than is evident in the present; our entrusting that they are university students, first-year freshers maybe, hand in hand with their general incarnations which calling to mind two certain Harry Enfield characters of a teen-aged ilk. Hannah is better off in life than Annie, a well dressed woman with a company car and apartment, whereas Annie is on the verge of chucking in her job. Where accusations, they of a frivolous and false sort, of misogyny blighted criticisms of the aforementioned Naked; Leigh splits a film that is all about women, and these two women specifically, down the centre page in telling an if only occasionally interesting tale, that is light on story, but is instead a somewhat charming account of these two recalling the faces and places which had the impact that they did on these two.
In the 1980s, they live a grimy existence with a third girl named Claire (Byers); a small accommodation above a Chinese takeaway shop encompassing the three of them in messy living rooms and shared bedrooms. The film chops between the two strands, either of the strands with enough in them to make decent films, shorts or otherwise, as stand alone pieces, but here somewhat uncomfortably spliced together as the nature of the chaotic and unhinged past tense clashes uneasily, indeed ineffectively juxtaposes, with the brighter and more 'grown-up' present tense strand of the two of them taking trips down memory lane. Leigh proves he can rack up a certain sense of unease; the initial coming together between the two women is, we feel, fraught with mites of tension. One instance sees a flashback to an altercation involving some mugs following one of the women's present day mentioning of them, a past instance that brings back a negative memory which ends undesirably that arrives with a good use of panic and pulsating musical tones.
It's too bad the rest of the film is not up to as much as this brief excursion, during which seeds of antagonism or whatnot are alluded to; the film lacking a cutting, narcissistic edge and instead plumbing for these people generally getting along swimmingly with one another in their gliding from one place to the next, frequently recognising someone of old, but sometimes not. At one point, we observe the film open up for an extended venturing of the two from apartment to apartment as Hannah looks for somewhere new to live, something encompassing odd interactions with shady real-estate folk; but it's nothing, in fact the two girls downplay the situations – where conflict seems apparent, Leigh stays in sync with the film Career Girls is and manoeuvres us around it for laugh and frolics as they merely exiting accordingly.
Where tension and a fair amount of drama is maintained, lies with the ambiguity surrounding just how much of the past either of these characters can actually recall. A great deal of 1980s content gives way to the present day stuff more inclined to lending time to these people uncovering places and people of old, which while looked back upon with nostalgia in that fashion nostalgia often brings about, what actually unfolded back in the day was often quite grotty and rough. Not for a second are we entirely sure precisely what it is either woman remembers and what they don't, and if they laugh and joke about times and people of old, how much can we invest in the past strand if the resultant drama leads them to where they are now? In spite of everything, there is an endearing quality about proceedings; it may not be particularly noteworthy, but it has a charm to it.
Quietly devastating
andy-747563 July 2020
I haven't seen the film since it opened in the late 90's and I can now see that this is one of Mike Leigh's best. There is the somewhat stagey acting for some of the scenes that comes out of Leigh's improvisatory technique but it all adds up to some of the most powerful characterizations and performances I've ever seen in a film. Stay with the film until the final moments. "It's not fair," is the final momento that the film leaves us with, even if we try as as hard as we can to be human.
a Mike Leigh joint
SnoopyStyle2 December 2019
Annie (Lynda Steadman) is visiting her university flatmate Hannah (Katrin Cartlidge) after six years apart. Hannah is a corporate office worker and very different from before. Andy Serkis plays Mr. Evans who shows his flat to the girls. They keep running into people from their past. In flashbacks, Hannah had an explosive mean streak and Annie was painfully awkward with her facial dermatitis.
This Mike Leigh film has an interesting female friendship. A couple of aspects do concern me. First, the lady's weird ticks during the flashbacks are very big. It is obviously meant to show that the girls have grown up and changed. It's just a lot. The second is all the convenient run-ins with their past. Adrian is probably important but Claire is wholly unnecessary. It would be more powerful to save it all for Ricky. He's the more memorable character and the focus of the climatic tension. Overall, this is a solid Mike Leigh joint.
This Mike Leigh film has an interesting female friendship. A couple of aspects do concern me. First, the lady's weird ticks during the flashbacks are very big. It is obviously meant to show that the girls have grown up and changed. It's just a lot. The second is all the convenient run-ins with their past. Adrian is probably important but Claire is wholly unnecessary. It would be more powerful to save it all for Ricky. He's the more memorable character and the focus of the climatic tension. Overall, this is a solid Mike Leigh joint.
really nice movie
Husky-630 April 1999
I really liked this movie. I just saw it 'by accident'. I just got home and we were watching this movie. I didn't look at the cover, i just watched it. And i been amazed! With such simple elements and a simple story it makes a GREAT movie! Only after the movie i discovered i already saw another movie from the director ('Secrets and Lies'), which i also liked but was just a bit heavy for me. But this movie was pretty light and very funny, so i really liked it. Anybody who want to have just a good night should rent this movie!
Not Mike Leigh's Best But Still Good
gpeevers20 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Another slice of life drama/comedy from British director Mike Leigh "Secrets and Lies". The story of two roommates and friends from university reuniting for the first time over a weekend 6 years after graduation.
The story is told through extensive use of flashbacks and the actors all manage to convey considerable development to their characters, although this is made easier by the extremely quirky behavior of both the main characters during the university flashbacks.
Overall a nice story of friendship with very good performances by both leads, filled with emotional highs and lows.
The story is told through extensive use of flashbacks and the actors all manage to convey considerable development to their characters, although this is made easier by the extremely quirky behavior of both the main characters during the university flashbacks.
Overall a nice story of friendship with very good performances by both leads, filled with emotional highs and lows.
very overdone acting
erwinoz28 August 2004
Never thought that there could be a Mike Leigh movie that I wouldn't like. But this is one. The thing with Leigh's movies is that the stories are for the biggest part just ordinary people in their ordinary everyday life. And it are the characters that almost make you feel like you are watching a documentary, that make them so special. This story is again a story with nothing much interesting. Two roommates that meet again. Half of the time in real life and the other in sort of flashbacks. But this time the acting is so very much overdone, that it is almost like I'm watching an American comedy, with just the fake laughs in the background missing. Apart from an occasional laugh, I watched it till the end as if I was sitting in the chair at my dentist. Just for old time Mike Leigh's sake.
A bittersweet, funny tale of friendship
Mattydee7423 May 2001
Mike Leigh's often improvised, raw films can be off-putting if you're unprepared. He has a real nack for finding performers who put their full souls into his films and the style of the acting in this film explodes with a vibrant, distinctive energy. A slice-of-life tale of two college friends who meet up years later and find coincidence and fate entwine in quite unpredictable ways, the film is all about the tensions beneath the surfaces and those things that so often go unsaid. Its a love story between friends much like "Muriels Wedding" and again without a sexual component. The two women undertake an exterior and interior journey and learn about the love that friendship quietly evolves. Cartlidge and Steadman are unique performers and the beautiful music score is by "Secrets and Lies" actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste.
Irritating characters doing irritating acting
thecatcanwait17 November 2011
Warning: Spoilers
First time i saw this film (a few years ago) I thought it was dreadful. Irritating actors doing irritating characters doing irritating acting.
And having seen it again they're still irritating.
There must come a point in Mike Leigh's much vaunted "method" of character improvisation where he loses objective judgement; he's so closely, and myopically, caught up in the whole process he can't see how parodic his actors "charactering" is becoming.
There's a scene in a pub illustrates how embarrassingly bad this improvised method can get; you've got social phobic psychology student Annie (Lynda Steadman) flittering away with fidgety fingers over itchy twitchy face; sat next to her is fellow psychology student, fat Ricky, spluttering and stammering with wild flailing blind arms like somebody with jerky Aspergers; and opposite is cynical Hannah (Katrin Cartlidge) sneering with quotation mark emphasis at their "pretentious psychobabble" doing a mocking beaky hand thing. Tics and fidgets and jerks gone galorious – and non of it is meant to be being "funny". It's not p--s-taking you're seeing, it's seriously intended role-playing. But i thought to myself: this is just mimic mania gone mad; parodic mannerism has now subsided into ridiculous pantomimic absurdity. It was like witnessing Neurosis overload; these 3 hapless actors in a Mike Leigh film had just allowed themselves to be turned into grotesque caricatures, riddled with hopelessly unfunny autistic distortions of Tourettes syndrome.
Oh dear. I've seen this neurotic OTT grotesquery before in Mike Leigh films; how ruinously afflicted Jane Horrocks was by it in Life is Sweet (and Timothy Spall too); Brenda Blethyn in Secrets and Lies with all her self-pitying "sweed arts" and "darlins" got pretty close to unbearable too. I suppose its par for the course. You have to expect that Mike Leigh films come with this trademark neurotic – bordering on mental illness - characterisation. Sometimes it leads towards heartfelt Pathos. And sometimes it veers off into something unbearably unbelievably Pathetic. Which unfortunately it does for big chunks of this film, especially in the retrospective flashbacks to when they were playing themselves as "immature" polytechnic students.
In the other - friends reunite – half of the film the tics and twitches have calmed down or grown up a bit. Annie is still doing that mad eyed down turned petrified stare when stressed or confronted; Hannah has stopped doing the beaky hand thing, but the sour antipathy hasn't really sweetened any, its just found less obvious streams in which to curdle; she's professionalised her cynicism, forged a career for herself out of the energy of her anger. Ricky, however, hasn't survived – he's gone full on bonkers. One of life's sad little causalities, left to wander off on his own down the career-less path to nowhere.
I suppose thinking about it i did feel a bit more in sympathy with the general premise of the film this time: the whole reflecting back on how we once were, and what we now like to think we've become, how much better or improved we like to seem to ourselves, while knowing all the while – deep down – that nothing much has changed about us at all, and nothing ever will. We're more or less stuck with our silly little selves for the duration.
Mind you, at least i'm not stuck inside a character in a Mike Leigh film for the duration. Lol. That would be purgatory!
And having seen it again they're still irritating.
There must come a point in Mike Leigh's much vaunted "method" of character improvisation where he loses objective judgement; he's so closely, and myopically, caught up in the whole process he can't see how parodic his actors "charactering" is becoming.
There's a scene in a pub illustrates how embarrassingly bad this improvised method can get; you've got social phobic psychology student Annie (Lynda Steadman) flittering away with fidgety fingers over itchy twitchy face; sat next to her is fellow psychology student, fat Ricky, spluttering and stammering with wild flailing blind arms like somebody with jerky Aspergers; and opposite is cynical Hannah (Katrin Cartlidge) sneering with quotation mark emphasis at their "pretentious psychobabble" doing a mocking beaky hand thing. Tics and fidgets and jerks gone galorious – and non of it is meant to be being "funny". It's not p--s-taking you're seeing, it's seriously intended role-playing. But i thought to myself: this is just mimic mania gone mad; parodic mannerism has now subsided into ridiculous pantomimic absurdity. It was like witnessing Neurosis overload; these 3 hapless actors in a Mike Leigh film had just allowed themselves to be turned into grotesque caricatures, riddled with hopelessly unfunny autistic distortions of Tourettes syndrome.
Oh dear. I've seen this neurotic OTT grotesquery before in Mike Leigh films; how ruinously afflicted Jane Horrocks was by it in Life is Sweet (and Timothy Spall too); Brenda Blethyn in Secrets and Lies with all her self-pitying "sweed arts" and "darlins" got pretty close to unbearable too. I suppose its par for the course. You have to expect that Mike Leigh films come with this trademark neurotic – bordering on mental illness - characterisation. Sometimes it leads towards heartfelt Pathos. And sometimes it veers off into something unbearably unbelievably Pathetic. Which unfortunately it does for big chunks of this film, especially in the retrospective flashbacks to when they were playing themselves as "immature" polytechnic students.
In the other - friends reunite – half of the film the tics and twitches have calmed down or grown up a bit. Annie is still doing that mad eyed down turned petrified stare when stressed or confronted; Hannah has stopped doing the beaky hand thing, but the sour antipathy hasn't really sweetened any, its just found less obvious streams in which to curdle; she's professionalised her cynicism, forged a career for herself out of the energy of her anger. Ricky, however, hasn't survived – he's gone full on bonkers. One of life's sad little causalities, left to wander off on his own down the career-less path to nowhere.
I suppose thinking about it i did feel a bit more in sympathy with the general premise of the film this time: the whole reflecting back on how we once were, and what we now like to think we've become, how much better or improved we like to seem to ourselves, while knowing all the while – deep down – that nothing much has changed about us at all, and nothing ever will. We're more or less stuck with our silly little selves for the duration.
Mind you, at least i'm not stuck inside a character in a Mike Leigh film for the duration. Lol. That would be purgatory!
Wonderful Movie
Jamjarr12 October 1999
Throughly enjoyed this movie.
Katrin Cartlidge and Linda Steadman are wonderful. The person who played Ricky, Mark Benton, gave a very powerful performance.
Thoroughly recommended for people who like gritty human drama.
Only downside was the unbelievable co-incidences of bumping into people from their past all in one day in London. It is a mighty big city.
Katrin Cartlidge and Linda Steadman are wonderful. The person who played Ricky, Mark Benton, gave a very powerful performance.
Thoroughly recommended for people who like gritty human drama.
Only downside was the unbelievable co-incidences of bumping into people from their past all in one day in London. It is a mighty big city.
Surviving Life
blakestachel29 November 2021
It gets better with every scene. What starts as an odd mixture between Gilliam and Hallmark, eventually finds a structural rhythm with the development of each of the separate narrative timelines. It isn't among Leigh's most arresting or emotionally complex films, but it certainly still grabs the kit and puts you in stitches. The chemistry between Hannah and Annie creates a synchronization of infectious energy. But it's the undercurrent of sadness teeming throughout the film that evokes the strongest sense of pathos. Leigh is remarkable in his ability to illustrate characters who laugh so that they won't cry, and this emotional paradox is what gives the film its edge.
Overall, it's a modest Mike Leigh effort, though his thesis that people could be happy if not for the staggering weight of their emotional baggage culminates in a very strong way at the end, with the recurrence of Ricky, who's course of life has lead him down a spiral of shame and confusion. The antecedent flashback shows that the previous interaction between him and the girls had resulted in contention and a total severance of their relationship. Ricky, the big loaf, shouting pained and pernicious utterances as he lumbers away, is a needle to the heart, as we realize that his misplaced bitterness will permanently prevent him from obtaining the only thing he truly seeks, acceptance.
Overall, it's a modest Mike Leigh effort, though his thesis that people could be happy if not for the staggering weight of their emotional baggage culminates in a very strong way at the end, with the recurrence of Ricky, who's course of life has lead him down a spiral of shame and confusion. The antecedent flashback shows that the previous interaction between him and the girls had resulted in contention and a total severance of their relationship. Ricky, the big loaf, shouting pained and pernicious utterances as he lumbers away, is a needle to the heart, as we realize that his misplaced bitterness will permanently prevent him from obtaining the only thing he truly seeks, acceptance.
a very funny poignant film about memories
recrea3320 November 2003
two old friends meet up and reminisce about their student years living above a chinese take away, whilst coincidence plays fast and loose with the trip. kaitlin is a complete star (as usual) playing hannah with fantastic gusto.
More And Less Than The Title
boblipton2 December 2019
Katrin Cartlidge and Linda Steadman were friends in college in the 1980s. Six years later, they reconnect in London and spend some time together, only to rediscover that their reasonably successful lives have not changed their personalities or issues.
I was mildly disappointed with this Mike Leigh movie. A great part of that discontentment is based on the fact that the leads speak in such broad accents that I had a lot of trouble understanding what they were saying; add in the tics and twitches they affected, and I found them off-putting. In the end, this movie was less a journey and more character studies which because of the performance issues, I was never able to find more than superficial. Even so, the movie remained compelling throughout, especially the sad, downward spiral of Mark Benton's supporting character.
I was mildly disappointed with this Mike Leigh movie. A great part of that discontentment is based on the fact that the leads speak in such broad accents that I had a lot of trouble understanding what they were saying; add in the tics and twitches they affected, and I found them off-putting. In the end, this movie was less a journey and more character studies which because of the performance issues, I was never able to find more than superficial. Even so, the movie remained compelling throughout, especially the sad, downward spiral of Mark Benton's supporting character.
Real!
Alexander Worka15 December 2000
Apart from being the only famous person I've ever seen in Kebab Delite in Wood Green, Mike Leigh is probably the most consistently brilliant film director of the modern era. "Career Girls" has attracted less critical praise than some of his other films, possibly because audiences found the way the characters accidentally ran across each other a bit contrived. Well, forget all that. The strength of this extraordinarily moving film is that, though the characters are deliberately slightly exaggerated, they are essentially incredibly true to life, in a way that Hollywood couldn't even begin to understand. Having been at college myself during (roughly) the period shown in the film I can testify that it is packed with eerily accurate details (e.g. wearing swimming goggles when cooking, Robert de Niro poster on wall etc.).
A high-ranker in a canon composed more or less entirely of classics.
A high-ranker in a canon composed more or less entirely of classics.
Possibly Leigh's most lightweight film
dr_clarke_28 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Mike Leigh 1997 comedy drama Career Girls follows two friends and former university flatmates who reunite after six years apart. With a focus on nostalgia, and themes about the bittersweet futility of trying to recapture the past, it has - like all of Leigh's films - plenty to maintain interest, but it is arguably the weakest entry in his catalogue.
Career Girls sees Lynda Steadman's Annie returning to London six years after graduation to visit her university friend Hannah, played by Katrin Cartlidge. As they catch up on the changes in each other's lives, the film alternates between set in the past and present, showing the times they reminisce about and also revealing their relationships with the small number of characters they encounter again in the present. Typically for Leigh, the heavily improvised dialogue is often witty and often poignant, and the film focuses almost entirely on characterisation, with the very loose plot playing second fiddle to this.
That's all well and good, and a formula that Leigh has frequently made work extremely well. The trouble with Career Girls is that both lead characters are quite irritating, with quirks, idiosyncrasies and personality traits that are used for heavy-handed comic effect but make them hard work to spend nearly an hour and a half with. It doesn't help that Cartlidge and Steadman play Hannah and Annie at two different ages but don't entirely convince as the younger versions, who are somewhat exaggerated caricatures, especially Steadman's twitchy Annie.
Mark Benton also turns on the mannered tics in the past as the girls' friend Ricky, although he's very convincing towards the end when Ricky has descended into mental illness. That however merely highlights the film's other main flaw: the slight plot hinges very heavily on confidence, which the script tries to pass off by discussing coincidence versus synchronicity, as the girls run into both Ricky and former boyfriend (of both of them) Adrian. As Hannah says when they see Ricky, "Coincidence is one thing, but this a joke".
But it's hard to actively dislike. For all its flaws, and for all that Annie and Hannah don't ever quite feel like real people, it ultimately draws the audience in thanks to the emotional heart at the film's core, and the two leads actresses (if not the lead characters) are just likeable enough to allow the viewer to invest in their story, even if only grudgingly. At times, the film is genuinely funny, especially during the then-less well known Andy Serkis's an amusing cameo as the odious Mr Evans. It's also as well directed as one expects from Mike Leigh, once again benefitting from being shot entirely on location and Leigh's regular cinematographer Dick Pope providing the camerawork. Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Tony Remy's score is admittedly slightly dated and slightly intrusive, but not enough to seriously compromise the film.
Over the course of his career, Leigh's film output has veered from light-hearted to serious, and occasionally manages to be both at the same time. Career Girls is very lightweight and almost superficial, but it does at least manage to be entertaining.
Career Girls sees Lynda Steadman's Annie returning to London six years after graduation to visit her university friend Hannah, played by Katrin Cartlidge. As they catch up on the changes in each other's lives, the film alternates between set in the past and present, showing the times they reminisce about and also revealing their relationships with the small number of characters they encounter again in the present. Typically for Leigh, the heavily improvised dialogue is often witty and often poignant, and the film focuses almost entirely on characterisation, with the very loose plot playing second fiddle to this.
That's all well and good, and a formula that Leigh has frequently made work extremely well. The trouble with Career Girls is that both lead characters are quite irritating, with quirks, idiosyncrasies and personality traits that are used for heavy-handed comic effect but make them hard work to spend nearly an hour and a half with. It doesn't help that Cartlidge and Steadman play Hannah and Annie at two different ages but don't entirely convince as the younger versions, who are somewhat exaggerated caricatures, especially Steadman's twitchy Annie.
Mark Benton also turns on the mannered tics in the past as the girls' friend Ricky, although he's very convincing towards the end when Ricky has descended into mental illness. That however merely highlights the film's other main flaw: the slight plot hinges very heavily on confidence, which the script tries to pass off by discussing coincidence versus synchronicity, as the girls run into both Ricky and former boyfriend (of both of them) Adrian. As Hannah says when they see Ricky, "Coincidence is one thing, but this a joke".
But it's hard to actively dislike. For all its flaws, and for all that Annie and Hannah don't ever quite feel like real people, it ultimately draws the audience in thanks to the emotional heart at the film's core, and the two leads actresses (if not the lead characters) are just likeable enough to allow the viewer to invest in their story, even if only grudgingly. At times, the film is genuinely funny, especially during the then-less well known Andy Serkis's an amusing cameo as the odious Mr Evans. It's also as well directed as one expects from Mike Leigh, once again benefitting from being shot entirely on location and Leigh's regular cinematographer Dick Pope providing the camerawork. Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Tony Remy's score is admittedly slightly dated and slightly intrusive, but not enough to seriously compromise the film.
Over the course of his career, Leigh's film output has veered from light-hearted to serious, and occasionally manages to be both at the same time. Career Girls is very lightweight and almost superficial, but it does at least manage to be entertaining.
Strong tale of friendship
gbill-7487712 December 2019
This one really snuck up on me. It starts slow, and has a low-budget feel to it, with a lame soundtrack and a couple of acting performances that take some getting used to. I really didn't think I was going to end up liking it, director Mike Leigh notwithstanding. As I watched Katrin Cartlidge and Lynda Steadman's exaggerated mannerisms and boorish behavior in the flashbacks, lots of things went through my mind. Maybe it was empathizing the awkwardness, lack of refinement, or the language that people have among those in their circle at this stage of life. Maybe it was like when you look back at videos of yourself and cringe a bit at how you behaved or the things you said, thinking you were funnier or cooler than you were. Maybe it was a little bit of all of those things.
On the other hand, one of the very nice things this time of life is that there is an openness to meeting new people, even if the connection is as improbable as it seems with these two women. Despite all of the abrasiveness on the part of Cartlidge's character, they form a bond that survives after college and the six years they're apart. Had they met later in life, it seems unlikely that they would have ended up friends. It's a marvelous view of the time of life when by chance and our open-mindedness, we make friends who are always with us, even when apart, and which we can always go back to.
It thus has this very sweet message at the heart of it, but it's not delivered in a cloying, overly romanticized way. There are regrets in the flashbacks, and the film shows us that sometimes we can only understand something from the distance of time, but are touched with sadness when looking back. The caustic wit is sometimes hurtful, as are some of the things the characters do to each other. Lastly, anyone who has ever said "let's not wait X years to meet again" will relate, since there is no real certainty that you'll ever see the other person again.
There is a feminist, empowering message to the film that I really appreciated as well. One explicitly mentions that women don't mean yes when they say no. It's fantastic how they handle the real-estate agents who are eye-rolling in their cheesy masculinity, with their remarks that the two must be lesbians because they're looking at apartments together, sleazy come-ons, and tacky nude images decorating the walls. Cartlidge delivers a couple of fantastic lines when the two talk over dinner, telling Steadman's character "I'm just not strong enough to be as vulnerable as you," and then later "When I look at men, all I see is dangerous weakness." My god, what a brutally great line that is.
Cartlidge turns in a memorable performance and her character is wonderfully strong, but to me the best performance belonged to Mark Benton, who plays Ricky, their stuttering friend who rarely opens his eyes while speaking. His last two scenes are outstanding. The first is where we see him in the present sitting outside the door of the Chinese takeout place beneath their old apartment (now closed), clearly suffering from a mental health issue that goes well beyond his ordinary awkwardness. The second is in flashback, where they go out to see him by the seaside and he's angry and hurt for having had his overtures of love rebuffed. It's great stuff, and a poignant reminder that some of the people in our lives may end up on much sadder paths.
On the other hand, one of the very nice things this time of life is that there is an openness to meeting new people, even if the connection is as improbable as it seems with these two women. Despite all of the abrasiveness on the part of Cartlidge's character, they form a bond that survives after college and the six years they're apart. Had they met later in life, it seems unlikely that they would have ended up friends. It's a marvelous view of the time of life when by chance and our open-mindedness, we make friends who are always with us, even when apart, and which we can always go back to.
It thus has this very sweet message at the heart of it, but it's not delivered in a cloying, overly romanticized way. There are regrets in the flashbacks, and the film shows us that sometimes we can only understand something from the distance of time, but are touched with sadness when looking back. The caustic wit is sometimes hurtful, as are some of the things the characters do to each other. Lastly, anyone who has ever said "let's not wait X years to meet again" will relate, since there is no real certainty that you'll ever see the other person again.
There is a feminist, empowering message to the film that I really appreciated as well. One explicitly mentions that women don't mean yes when they say no. It's fantastic how they handle the real-estate agents who are eye-rolling in their cheesy masculinity, with their remarks that the two must be lesbians because they're looking at apartments together, sleazy come-ons, and tacky nude images decorating the walls. Cartlidge delivers a couple of fantastic lines when the two talk over dinner, telling Steadman's character "I'm just not strong enough to be as vulnerable as you," and then later "When I look at men, all I see is dangerous weakness." My god, what a brutally great line that is.
Cartlidge turns in a memorable performance and her character is wonderfully strong, but to me the best performance belonged to Mark Benton, who plays Ricky, their stuttering friend who rarely opens his eyes while speaking. His last two scenes are outstanding. The first is where we see him in the present sitting outside the door of the Chinese takeout place beneath their old apartment (now closed), clearly suffering from a mental health issue that goes well beyond his ordinary awkwardness. The second is in flashback, where they go out to see him by the seaside and he's angry and hurt for having had his overtures of love rebuffed. It's great stuff, and a poignant reminder that some of the people in our lives may end up on much sadder paths.
very disappointing
imdbwoolfie7 October 2002
Secrets and Lies is my favourite movie so I was keen to see this. Unfortunately, it doesn't work on any level - the plot is unbelieveable and contrived, and the characters a little annoying. All of this is a bit surprising given Leigh's other movies.
Not Leigh's best, but still very involving!
Grimble-116 October 2002
As a life-long Mike Leigh fan, I first saw CAREER GIRLS on its cinema release a couple of years ago. No, it didn't make quite the same impact as (for example) NAKED or SECRETS AND LIES, but nonetheless it does boast impressive and detailed performances from its lead actors. Katrin Cartlidge's work was always intense and magnetic (I was lucky enough to see her on stage in Theatre de Complicite's MNEMONIC in 1998) - and her recent, tragic death from septicaemia in September 2002, aged 41, was a desperately sad loss to top-notch acting and independent film making.
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